Department for Transport

Shipping: Overseas Trade

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of overseas trade that will be delivered to the UK through the maritime industry in the next 10 years.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport monitors and publishes port freight statistics on a quarterly and annual basis. The department’s published port freight statistics for the last quarter of 20211 and for both 20202 and 20193 are provided below. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused worldwide disruption to trade, and its impacts on the maritime sector are evidenced in these statistics.   [1] Port freight statistics October 2021 – December 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/port-freight-quarterly-statistics-october-to-december-2021/port-freight-quarterly-statistics-october-to-december-2021 [2] Port freight annual statistics 2020 report: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/port-freight-annual-statistics-2020 [3] Port freight annual statistics: 2019 report: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/port-freight-annual-statistics-2019

Shipping: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the shipping industry's announcement to become net zero by 2050.

Robert Courts: The Government is working to accelerate efforts to decarbonise the international shipping sector and therefore welcomes calls from the industry for higher ambition in the International Maritime Organization’s Initial Strategy on greenhouse gas reduction when it is revised in 2023. The UK is committed to building consensus through the IMO to ensure international shipping emissions peak and decline in line with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.The IMO will need robust policy measures in place to achieve these ambitious goals, and the UK will play a leading role in shaping these measures to ensure they are fit for purpose. Domestically, the UK will reduce emissions to net zero across the whole economy by 2050, including emissions from domestic shipping. The Transport Decarbonisation Plan, published in summer 2021, sets out our commitments to accelerate the UK’s transition to net zero shipping.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to help enforce the Marine Environment Protection Committee's adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI for foreign-flagged vessels passing through UK territorial waters.

Robert Courts: In June 2021, the 76th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI designed to improve the technical and operational efficiency of existing vessels. All ships which meet the new international requirements under the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) will be issued with a certificate to confirm compliance. The measures will come into force on 1 January 2023. It would not be practical to inspect foreign flagged vessels transiting UK waters to confirm compliance to MARPOL Annex VI. However, any foreign flagged vessel arriving at a UK port – or any other port that is in a State which is a Party to MARPOL Annex VI – is liable for inspection under the existing and well-established Port State Control regime.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of the Clydebank Declaration on the maritime industry.

Robert Courts: Signatory states to this UK-led COP26 initiative have declared their ambition and intent to support the establishment of green shipping corridors – routes between two or more ports on which zero-emission shipping solutions are demonstrated and supported. This initiative aims to accelerate the deployment of zero emission technologies and fuels over the next decade and beyond, enabling the transition to zero-emission shipping, and is designed to complement action at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The 22 states have a collective aim to support the establishment of at least 6 green corridors by the middle of this decade, while aiming to scale activity up in the following years. It is also expected that the Declaration will unlock opportunities for the maritime industry and provide socioeconomic benefits for communities in countries involved. The Government’s leadership on the Declaration and ongoing work to implement it by supporting the establishment of UK corridors puts us in a strong position to seize these benefits.

UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions: Finance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of the £206 million allocated to UK SHORE will be made available to companies through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.

Robert Courts: The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) was announced this month as part of the refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. More information on UK SHORE, including funding details for a multi-year Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, will be published in due course, alongside guidance for applicants.

UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish a detailed plan for the newly established UK SHORE unit.

Robert Courts: The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) was announced this month as part of the refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. More information on UK SHORE, including plans for a multi-year Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, will be published in due course, alongside guidance for applicants.

Shipping: Carbon Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK Chamber of Shipping for the International Maritime Organisation's proposal to implement a market-based mechanism for carbon pricing in the maritime industry to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

Robert Courts: As host of both the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and last year’s COP26, the United Kingdom is committed to building consensus to ensure international shipping keeps pace with our Paris goal of 1.5°C degrees. The IMO will need a suite of policy and regulatory solutions, including potentially market based measures, to deliver this increased climate ambition. Currently there are multiple proposals being discussed at the IMO and we cannot provide specific comment on these during ongoing negotiations. The UK delegation is playing an active and constructive role in the development of policy measures at the IMO.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timeframe is for the reporting of the research projects being carried out under the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.

Robert Courts: Research projects funded by the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition will be completed by 31st March 2022. Projects will then share an end of project report with the Department for Transport and Innovate UK.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the supply of HGV drivers as at 22 March 2022; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making loans available to people to cover the cost of HGV training.

Trudy Harrison: The most recent Annual Population Survey data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that in the period January-December 2021 there were 252,811 HGV drivers employed. The Government has considered a range of options for supporting HGV driver training. We are investing up to £34 million in skills bootcamps to train up to 11,000 more people to become HGV drivers. These are free, short, intensive courses and are available to train new drivers to gain a category C or category C&E licence, upgrade their existing licence to category C+E or to qualify to transport hazardous goods. There are also courses to help update Driver CPC qualifications so former drivers can return to the sector. An additional 1,000 people are expected to be trained through courses accessed locally and funded by the government’s adult education budget.We are also supporting lorry driver training through apprenticeships. This includes the Large Goods Vehicle Driver (Category C+E) apprenticeship standard with a funding band of £7,000, and the Urban Driver (Category C) apprenticeship with a funding band of £5,000. The apprenticeships are available to people of any age who are seeking to retrain and widens the accessibility of this route of entry into the industry. In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus are supporting jobseekers to return to driving and helping jobseekers become HGV drivers through a driver training pilot scheme and sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs).

DP World and P&O Ferries: Contracts

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish details of the Government’s review of contracts it holds with P&O and DP World.

Robert Courts: The Transport Secretary has instructed a comprehensive survey of all contracts between P&O Ferries and DP World, and Government. Before any action is taken, we need to have a clear understanding of exactly what has happened which is what we are doing right now with BEIS. DfT is working closely with BEIS to establish the facts of what has happened in this case. We are confident that there is little by way of Government contracts with P&O Ferries or DP World however the cross-Government review remains underway.

DP World: World Expo

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish all documentation held by his Department relating to his meeting with representatives of DP World at the Dubai Expo on 22 November 2021.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what topics were discussed at his meeting with representatives of DP World at the Dubai Expo on 22 November 2021.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has held with representatives of DP World on the operations of P&O Ferries between 1 November 2021 and 15 March 2022.

Robert Courts: As part of our response to the Transport Select Committee, the Secretary of State has sent a note of the meeting with DP world in November. This is the only meeting held in the time period.

Department for Transport: Departmental Responsibilities

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his departmental diary for 20 November 2021.

Robert Courts: The Department does not publish full Ministerial diaries. Details of meetings with external organisations are routinely published on GOV.UK The next round of data is due to be published shortly.

High Speed 2 Line: Costs

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to representatives of HS2 Ltd to commission an assessment and report on the potential impact of price increases in (a) fuel and (b) construction materials on the delivery of the HS2 contract.

Andrew Stephenson: The potential impact of price increases in fuel and materials is reviewed continuously by both HS2 Ltd and my Department. I am clear that all opportunities to deliver the programme in the most cost efficient way must be fully explored.

P&O Ferries: Redundancy

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he was informed that P&O Ferries redundancies would lead to service disruption.

Robert Courts: On 16 March, under the terms of commercial confidentiality, the P&O Ferries Chief Executive informed a small group of senior officials in DfT of their intention to serve redundancy notices to 800 seafarers. This was to take effect on the morning of 17th March and gave the Government no time to engage.  Ministers were not told the full scale of P&O’s plans, nor the manner in which they would be carried out, in advance. As part of this exchange with senior officials, P&O claimed suspended services would last for approximately ten days while they train new crew.

Driving Licences: Applications

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the average time taken for the DVLA to process paper licence applications; and if he will take steps to reduce the average time taken to process those applications.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days. However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here. The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here. The table below shows the average processing time for ordinary driving licence applications between 1 April 2021 and 28 February 2022 in working days, by new applications, renewal applications and replacement applications. (a) new applications(b) renewal applications(c) replacement applicationsOnline application2.331.561.62Paper application25.0830.5633.70

Shipping: Living Wage

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral statement of 23 March 2022 that he will be taking steps to ensure all mariners who are working in UK waters are paid the living wage, what steps he plans to take to achieve that; and whether those steps will apply to mariners working in UK waters on vessels making international voyages.

Robert Courts: We have already strengthened the minimum wage to apply to all seafarers ordinarily working in our territorial waters regardless of their nationality of where the vessel they are working on is registered. This means that routes operating within the UK, such as the Cairnryan - Larne route, are protected by our minimum wage. The other P&O Ferry routes are international and we are unable to apply our legislation to those vessels as they are outside our jurisdiction.We will soon announce a package of measures that will ensure that the outcomes that P&O Ferries is seeking to achieve through this disastrous move cannot be seen through.

CAF Group: Trams

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of blocking the future award of manufacturing contracts to CAF in the context of their tram models' recurrent faults in the West Midlands and across Europe.

Trudy Harrison: We are working closely with officials from the region and West Midland Metro to monitor the situation, and fully understand the issues.

Midland Metro: Safety

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help support Birmingham residents’ use of alternative public transport following the recurrent suspension of West Midlands Metro services.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that disruption to Birmingham’s tram network does not adversely affect the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Birmingham’s tram network is not suspended.

Trudy Harrison: The Department was made aware of the West Midland Metro closure on 19 March 2022. Since then we have been engaging with officials from the Combined Authority to understand the evolving operational issues. We have received assurances that ticket acceptance on alternate transport modes is in place for Birmingham residents. We continue to monitor the situation, communicating with officials from the region as well as industry safety experts, to understand its potential impact to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and to understand when services can be resumed.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

P&O Ferries: Dubai

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations the Government has made to the Dubai authorities regarding DP World and P&O Ferries.

Paul Scully: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iron and Steel: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many successful bids from the steel sector there have been as part of the Net Zero Innovation Plan.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of further extending the deadline for completed applications to the Renewable Heat Initiative beyond 31 March 2022 in the context of supply chain issues delaying installation of heat pumps.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

P&O Ferries: Redundancy

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral answer on 23 March 2022, Official Report, column 325, whether he is taking legal action against P&O Ferries under the (a) Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and (b) Employment Rights Act 1996.

Paul Scully: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has formally commissioned the Insolvency Service to urgently undertake a thorough enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by P&O Ferries. The Secretary of State has asked them to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not, including any scope to take legal action against the company directors. We will not hesitate to take further action if we find evidence of wrongdoing.

Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward further guidance or secondary legislation following Royal Assent of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022; and what secondary legislation he plans to bring forward.

Paul Scully: The Economic Crime (Enforcement and Transparency) Act 2022 contains a number of regulation-making powers which we will use to introduce secondary legislation. Work on drafting secondary legislation and guidance is underway, as is work to implement the new Register of Overseas Entities. The Government has committed to providing Parliament with an update on this work within six weeks. The new Register will be in place as soon as practicably possible and we expect the measures to have an immediate dissuasive effect on those who are intending to buy UK property with illicit funds.

P&O Ferries: Redundancy

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has issued legal proceedings to P&O under section 194(2) of the Trade Union Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Paul Scully: The Insolvency Service prosecutes offences contrary to section 194(1) of the Trade Union Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Insolvency Service is currently conducting urgent enquiries into the circumstances of the recent redundancies made by P&O Ferries at the request of the Secretary of State.

Foreign Companies: Property

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the provisions within the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 relating to the public register of beneficial owners of non-UK entities that own or buy land in the UK, for what reason her Department provided for an 18-month transition period for those provisions.

Paul Scully: The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 requires overseas companies already owning land in England and Wales, and Scotland, to register their beneficial owners within six months. The six-month transitional period gives existing owners of property, with the vast majority legitimately holding property through overseas entities, time to understand and comply with the new rules.

Fuels: Regulation

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Government on unregulated fuels such as heating oil.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has received any formal requests from the Scottish Government seeking to have unregulated fuels capped or rises restricted.

Greg Hands: The UK Government has not received representations from the Scottish Government on unregulated fuels such as heating oil.

Help to Grow Scheme: Digital Technology

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses have completed the Help to Grow Digital Scheme as of 23 March 2022.

Paul Scully: We intend to publish data on take up and completion of the Help to Grow Programmes later this year on the GOV.UK website, and thereafter on a regular basis.

Help to Grow Scheme

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses have completed the Help to Grow Management scheme as of 23 March 2022.

Paul Scully: We intend to publish data on take up and completion of the Help to Grow Programmes later this year on the GOV.UK website, and thereafter on a regular basis.

Carbon Capture and Storage: North of England

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the two-carbon capture/storage sites that will be situated in the North of England to meeting the UK's COP26 commitments by 2030.

Greg Hands: HyNet North West and the East Coast Cluster have been named as ‘Track-1’ CCUS clusters, set to come online in the mid-2020s and pioneer carbon capture technologies in the UK. These clusters will form the foundation for the Government’s ambition to capture 20-30 megatons of CO2 annually by 2030, equivalent to the annual emissions of Denmark, making a substantial contribution to carbon budgets and meeting net zero by 2050.

Dawnfresh: Redundancy Pay

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to expedite the Redundancy Payment Scheme for workers at the Dawnfresh site in Uddingston.

Paul Scully: The Redundancy Payments Service aims to process all claims within 6 weeks of receipt. Before making any payments, the Redundancy Payments Service requires certain documents from the Insolvency Practitioner administering the insolvency, to validate employees’ claims. The Redundancy Payments Service received these documents on Monday 21 March and the first payments were issued on that date; the first claim having been made on 3 March. By 23 March, 311 separate payments totalling £658,002.42 (gross) had been made on the case.

Shipping: Minimum Wage

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the enforcement of minimum wage legislation in the UK maritime industry.

Paul Scully: Seafarers who ordinarily work within the UK and its territorial waters are entitled to be paid the UK National Minimum Wage. The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforce the minimum wage on behalf of the government, across all sectors of the economy. They consider every complaint from workers, conduct proactive enforcement activities, and deliver educational activity to support employer compliance. HMRC have a strong record on enforcing the minimum wage. Since 2015 they have returned over £100 million in unpaid wages to 1 million workers. If anyone thinks they have been underpaid, they should complain to HMRC using the online form on GOV.UK, or call the Acas helpline. Complaints can be made anonymously and HMRC won't reveal a worker's identity to the employer.

Minimum Wage: Recruitment

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) recruitment agencies and (b) job sites do not advertise vacancies that do not comply with minimum wage legislation.

Paul Scully: This Government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and will take robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. The Employment Agencies Act 1973 and its associated regulations are the main pieces of legislation that directly regulate employment agencies and employment businesses, including online recruitment services, which operate within Great Britain. This legislation is enforced by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. It is the responsibility of the agency to check the validity of the adverts before they post them online and that they include the required information. An individual's entitlement to the minimum wage is not dependent on the rates of pay included in a job advert or job offer that they accepted. Therefore, if an individual is not being paid at least minimum wage when they are entitled to it, they should complain to HMRC using the online form on gov.uk. HMRC consider every complaint they receive and, if they identify underpayment, they will require the employer to repay the arrears to workers and a penalty to government. HMRC support employers and workers by actively raising awareness of employers’ obligations and workers’ rights relating to the minimum wage. For example, HMRC routinely contact employers who advertise unpaid internships, signposting them to guidance to help ensure they are compliant.

Nuclear Power

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the UK’s nuclear power generation industry to strengthen energy security for the UK.

Greg Hands: Nuclear power generated in the UK plays a critical role in the UK’s energy system. It provides low-carbon baseload power and reduces reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile global prices. In 2020, nuclear power stations generated 16% of the electricity generated in the UK. In the Net Zero Strategy, published in October 2021, the Government announced a new £120 million Nuclear Enabling Fund to provide targeted support to address barriers to entry for future nuclear. The Government will also publish a roadmap for new nuclear in 2022.

Energy Supply

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the contribution of North Sea oil and gas to energy security.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to the UK offshore oil and gas sector, which continues to keep people warm, fuel their cars and strengthen the country’s energy security.UK-produced gas met nearly half of the UK’s domestic gas consumption in 2020. The North Sea Transition Deal recognises the important role that gas will play as the UK economy transitions from one based on fossil fuels towards one based on clean energy.

Post Offices: ICT

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support sub-postmasters seeking to overturn criminal convictions relating to the Horizon IT scandal.

Paul Scully: The Government is keen to see that all postmasters whose convictions are overturned are fairly compensated as quickly as possible and will work with Post Office towards this goal. Amounts of compensation will be settled by Post Office engaging with individual claimants or their representatives. Postmasters seeking to have their convictions quashed must apply directly through the Courts before compensation payments can be made. Post Office is working with the Courts and the CCRC to progress appeals as quickly as possible. The Government is providing the funding required for Post Office to support settlements with postmasters whose convictions have been quashed. This funding includes making interim compensation payments of up to £100,000 to all eligible postmasters who were wrongly convicted. So far, 66 postmasters have received offers for interim payments, and as of the time of writing, all but one of these have been paid.

Heating Oil: Prices

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of the recent increase in the cost of heating oil on households in rural areas who have no alternative means of fuelling their heating and hot water.

Greg Hands: Heating oil prices are primarily driven by the underlying price in the global market of crude oil, though are also influenced by a range of other supply and demand factors, including refining capacity, stock levels, distribution costs, retail margins and seasonal demand variations with prices rising in winter as demand increases. There is an open market for the supply of domestic heating oil in the UK as the Government believe this provides the best long-term guarantee of competitive prices. Financial support remains available for heating oil customers with energy bills, if eligible, through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment schemes.

Batteries: Lithium

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the fire risk of Lithium-ion batteries when used as part of a Battery Energy Storage System, such as in large scale solar instillations.

Greg Hands: Grid-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are covered by a robust regulatory framework which requires manufacturers to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market, that they are installed correctly, and that any safety issues found after products are on the market or after installations are dealt with. In 2018, BEIS set up an industry-led Storage Health and Safety Governance Group responsible for ensuring that an appropriate, robust, and future-proofed health and safety framework is sustained as the industry develops.

Companies: Environment Protection and Human Rights

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to make companies licensed in the UK legally accountable for failing to prevent (a) human rights abuses and (b) environmental damage in their (i) operations and (ii) supply chains.

Paul Scully: The UK has a strong record on human rights and environmental awareness and protection, much of which results from our framework of legislation. The UK already requires companies to undertake due diligence on sustainability matters under existing legislation on corporate transparency. UK listed companies are required to report on relevant environmental, social and governance aspects in their annual reports. Large businesses are also required to publish supply chain transparency statements on steps they have taken to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place in their business or through their supply chains. Both reporting requirements compel disclosure of a company’s due diligence arrangements where these are in place. In certain circumstances, companies can already be held liable for breaches of duties of care to others where harm is suffered as a foreseeable consequence of the breach.

Overseas Companies: Risk Assessment

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the UK has a strong disaster risk disclosure for UK licenced companies that work internationally.

Paul Scully: The UK has responded to the growing demand for non-financial information in UK corporate reporting, by introducing measures to increase and improve the public disclosures entities make. In 2013, the UK introduced the requirement for certain entities to produce a strategic report, an ambitious change which required directors and boards to take a broad range of issues into account in the running of their company, including on social and environmental matters. These requirements were expanded in 2016, through the introduction of additional disclosure requirements for all large Public Interest Entities (PIEs), to require a description of the principal risks relating to social and environmental matters. In addition to this, and where relevant, the entity must also include a description of the business relationships, products and services which are likely to cause adverse impacts on risks relating to social and environmental matters, and provide a description of how the entity manages those risks. More recently, in 2022, the UK became the first country in the G20 to mandate large public and private businesses to report their climate-related financial disclosures in line with the framework set out by the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure, including their exposures to climate change-based risks.

Question

Jacob Young: What steps he is taking to support the growth of the hydrogen sector in the UK.

Kwasi Kwarteng: We are delivering on the Hydrogen Strategy and will soon be launching our £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, providing up to £100 million for our first allocation round for electrolytic hydrogen projects and publishing our Sector Development Action Plan.

Question

Carol Monaghan: What recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of raising the energy price cap on standards of living.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government is very aware of the difficulties that consumers are experiencing as a result of higher energy prices. This is why we are giving a package of support worth £9.1 billion, which will help over 28 million households.

Question

Kate Green: What recent progress he has made on reforming Companies House.

Paul Scully: Reform is already underway, with a further £63 million to be invested over the Spending Review period. We will legislate for new powers for Companies House in the Economic Crime Bill to come early in the next session.

Question

Dan Jarvis: What steps his Department is taking to support research and development in South Yorkshire as part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

George Freeman: We are growing R&D clusters around the country and I recently had the pleasure of visiting the BioYorkshire cluster. The Levelling Up White Paper set a new mission to increase domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East by at least one third over the Spending Review period and at least 40 percent by 2030.

Question

Liz Twist: What assessment he has made of the impact of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme on local authorities' ability to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income households.

Paul Scully: BEIS commissioned an independent evaluation of Phases 1 and 2 of the Local Authority Delivery scheme in October 2020. This evaluation includes impact analysis of the scheme’s core objectives to improve energy efficiency in low-income households and will report findings following scheme completion.

Question

Stephen Kinnock: If he will invoke section 400 of the Insolvency Act 1986 to direct the official receiver to ensure that the power supply for Baglan Energy Park remains connected until a permanent connection to the National Grid is secured.

Lee Rowley: We understand this is a concerning time for those impacted by the liquidation of the Baglan Group. We cannot offer any further comment at this stage in view of ongoing legal action.

Question

Simon Fell: What support his Department is providing to energy intensive industries operating in the UK in the context of energy price rises.

Lee Rowley: We recognise this continues to be a worrying time for businesses due to the significant increases in global energy prices. Extensive engagement is happening across Government at both an official and ministerial level on this issue.

Attorney General

Fraud: Victims

Jim Shannon: To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions she has had with the Serious Fraud Office on victims of fraud; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that victims of fraud are compensated accordingly.

Alex Chalk: I meet regularly with the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to discuss casework and corporate matters, including issues connected to victims of crime and compensation. The SFO always aims to trace and seize money and other assets from criminals in all of its fraud, bribery and corruption cases, so that criminals do not benefit from their offending and victims can be compensated wherever possible. The SFO continues to perform well in this regard and its proceeds of crime recovery rate was higher than all comparable UK agencies in three of the last four years. Last year, the SFO recovered the fourth highest amount in value out of 180 agencies across England and Wales, after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Metropolitan Police and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), all of which are much larger organisations. Its success in recovering the proceeds of crime and the work of its Witness Care Team in supporting victims – sometimes totalling thousands in a single case – and witnesses were also positively recognised in two HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) inspection reports published in the past year. Internationally, the SFO recently obtained £210,610 in compensation as a result of its investigation into Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. The funds will be transferred by the UK Government to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and will support key infrastructure projects, ensuring that the people of Nigeria benefit directly.

Department of Health and Social Care

Dementia: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will he will make it his policy to increase funding for dementia research in the forthcoming dementia strategy.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has committed to invest at least £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases, including dementia. We will set out our plans for dementia in England later this year, which will include dementia research.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will carry out an impact assessment of the Government's Living Safely with Covid strategy on any potential risk posed by that strategy to people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of extending the covid-19 booster vaccination programme in Spring 2022 to (a) NHS staff and (b) people over the age of 50.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients not seen within the operational standard of the Cancer Pathway in (a) the South West and (b) Exeter as at 22 March 2022.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not available in the format requested, as data on cancer pathways is collected at trust and clinical commissioning group level.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Ukrainian refugees will be eligible for covid-19 vaccinations on arrival to the UK; and what steps he is taking to encourage covid-19 vaccination uptake for this cohort.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immensa Health Clinic: Wolverhampton

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to publish the full independent quality audit carried out at the Wolverhampton site of Immensa laboratories; and if his Department will publish provide details of that audit, including (a) who carried it out and (b) when they did so.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2022 to Question 142428, what national awareness campaigns are being conducted to alert the public to the MHRA statement that in a minority of cases the risks of the vaccines outweigh the benefits; and what public information is available to enable individual patients to assess whether their own circumstances and those of their children are such that the risk of having the vaccine outweighs the benefit.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of patients who remain in hospital and who are medically fit for discharge; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Coronavirus

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2022 to Question 128369 on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Coronavirus, whether he plans to publish that list of eligible groups before 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS policy of requiring the informed consent of patients, including information about benefits and risks, was applied to patients before they were administered with covid-19 vaccines; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients not seen within the operational standard of the Cancer Pathway in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Batley and Spen constituency as at 22 March 2022.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not available in the format requested, as data on cancer pathways is collected at trust and clinical commissioning group level.

Hospitals

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of patients in acute hospitals in England who are medically fit for discharge; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Organs: Donors

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people register their organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Maria Caulfield: NHS Blood and Transplant promotes organ donation through its campaign activities and partnerships. It encourages the public to make their organ donation decision known to their family through the ‘Leave them Certain’ campaign and register on the NHS Organ Donor Register.In 2022/23, NHS Blood and Transplant is expanding its commercial, public sector and community partnerships and will provide public engagement activity, such as Organ Donation Week. NHS Blood and Transplant also works with the Community Investment Scheme supporting 35 grassroots, community and faith-based organisations to raise awareness of organ donation.

Nurses: Resignations

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses resigned two years after starting their positions in the year 2020-21.

Edward Argar: The information is not held centrally in the format requested.

NHS and Social Services: Coronavirus

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what dates he has spoken to (a) trades unions and (b) staff associations on the impact of covid-19 vaccination as a condition of deployment within (i) the social care sector and (ii) the NHS as of 19 January 2022.

Edward Argar: Ministers discussed the policy with UNISON officials on 14 January 2022. Departmental officials have met frequently with stakeholders, including trades unions. This included meetings to discuss the impact in the National Health Service between 11 to 13 October 2021; two workshops with the Social Partnership Forum and meetings in wider social care settings on 15, 17 and 30 December 2021 and 10 and 11 January 2022. Meetings regarding the policy in care homes meetings were held on the 4 August 2021 with UNISON and staff association representatives.

Brain: Tumours

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the establishment of dedicated neuro-oncology consultant posts within the fields of neurosurgery, neurology, neuropathology, paediatrics and medical and clinical oncology, as recommended by the Task and Finish Group on Brain Tumour Research.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to designate centres of excellence in the management of brain tumours. Nine centres have achieved designation in its first phase. The Mission has a workstream on training to expand the brain tumour treatment workforce in collaboration between National Health Service bodies, Royal Colleges and charities.All NHS services for brain tumours should be provided according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence improving outcomes guidance which makes recommendations on workforce specialisations. NHS England and NHS Improvement expect the services commissioned to adhere to these guidelines.

Disease Control

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the UK's preparedness for another pandemic.

Maggie Throup: Pandemic preparedness is kept under continuous review and evolves in response to new scientific information, lessons learned from prior pandemics, responses to other infectious disease outbreaks and exercises to test response mechanisms.  We continue to prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios and aim to have robust, flexible and deployable capabilities which can be adapted to outbreaks of different scales and characteristics.The UK Health Security Agency became fully operational on 1 October 2021 and is dedicated to ensuring that we are protected from all future health threats, including enhancing preparedness for pandemics via the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing an online tool for beneficiaries to monitor and manage credit on Healthy Start cards.

Maggie Throup: An online tool for beneficiaries to monitor and manage credit on Healthy Start cards is not currently in scope. Those in receipt of a Healthy Start prepaid card can check their balance at most cash machines and by calling the automated helpline, which is available 24 hours a day.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beneficiaries in receipt of Healthy Start vouchers have ceased to receive vouchers but not received a Healthy Start card.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority estimates that as of 24 March 2022, there were 68,437 households on the paper voucher scheme which had not yet moved to the Healthy Start card. Eligibility for the scheme may change at any time due to personal circumstances.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) eliminate the shortfall in the overall number of women who underwent breast screening as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and (b) catch up with the estimated 936,430 fewer women who were screened in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20.

Maria Caulfield: All National Health Service breast screening services are operational, offering additional screening sessions and walk-in appointments. NHS England and NHS Improvement have allocated £50 million to support the recovery of breast screening services and a further £22 million to replace mobile breast screening units. This funding seeks to improve uptake in rural and less affluent areas and accelerate the restoration of services impacted by the pandemic. Later this year, we will set out a 10 year cancer plan which will focus on early diagnosis and innovative treatments.

Doctors: Resignations

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doctors resigned two years after starting their positions in the year 2020-21.

Edward Argar: This information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Waiting Lists

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how often he meets the Chief Executive of NHS England to review progress with reducing waiting lists and other matters.

Edward Argar: My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care meets regularly with the Chief Executive of NHS England to discuss a range of issues, including progress on reducing waiting lists.

NHS: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the absence of a manpower and recruitment plan, what steps the NHS takes to forecast its spending needs for the year ahead.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement published the ‘2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance’ on 24 December 2021. This is supplemented by technical guidance on the associated financial assumptions on which the National Health Service should plan. Individual systems plan spending for the year against allocations in response to this guidance and submit plans to NHS England and NHS Improvement to aggregate into an overall NHS financial plan. We expect the NHS to manage their spend within the overall budget in the Mandate.

Joint Replacements: Waiting Lists

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much each NHS England Clinical Commissioning Group has spent on prescription painkillers for patients on a waiting list for a joint replacement in each year since 2015.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not held centrally.

Endometriosis: Mental Health Services and Pain

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to address the absence of NICE guidance on endometriosis to include (a) non-pelvic endometriosis, (b) thoracic endometriosis, (c) pain management and (d) mental health support.

Edward Argar: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and has processes in place to review its published guidelines in light of new evidence or emerging issues not in the scope of the original guideline.NICE’s guideline on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis already includes recommendations on pharmacological pain management. NICE reviewed its endometriosis guideline in late 2021 and concluded that the evidence did not support consideration of endometriosis outside the pelvis. Following advice from topic experts, NICE plans to review its guideline on endometriosis in 2022/23.

NHS Foundation Trusts and NHS Trusts: Energy

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much each (a) NHS trust and (b) foundation trust in England spent on energy costs in 2020-21.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the increased cost of energy on NHS trusts in England.

Edward Argar: Information on expenditure on energy costs in 2020/21 by each National Health Service foundation trust and NHS trust in England is shown in the attached tables.No formal assessment has been made of the impact of the increased cost of energy on NHS trusts in England. Table (xlsx, 23.0KB)

NHS: Supply Chains

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the progress on generating the estimated £2.4bn in savings for the NHS through the use of the NHS Supply Chain model; and what estimate his Department has made of savings to date.

Edward Argar: As at February 2022, £2.1 billion in cumulative savings have been achieved and overall savings are expected to exceed the target by the end of 2022/23.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that applications to the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (a) by or on behalf of people who have suffered bereavement from vaccine damage are prioritised for urgent resolution and (b) from people who have suffered the most serious disablement are the next priority; and his planned timetable is for the first awards to be made.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Business Services Authority will pass claims for medical assessment once a claimant’s supporting medical records have been received. The NHS Business Service Authority has requested that the relevant authorities provide medical records for all Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS) claimants. The VDPS’ capacity to process these medical assessments has been increased in order to expedite claims. On receipt of medical records, all claims will be processed regardless of individual circumstances to ensure consistency and fairness, without disadvantaging claimants.

Prescriptions: Fines

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescription penalty charge notices issued by the NHS Business Authority were overturned following confirmation that the person had paid in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The following table shows the number of penalty charge notices issued in each of the last five years which were overturned after confirming the individual had paid.YearNumber of overturned penalty charge notices201713,508201843,439201943,71520204,485202117

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that applicants under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme are (a) allocated a named person to be their point of contact and (b) given a monthly report on the progress of their case.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Business Services Authority is ensuring that each claimant has a limited number of caseworkers assigned to their claim to improve their experience. Claimants are provided with updates at key points as their claims are progressed.

Ambulance Services: Cameras

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ambulance trusts have been provided with body cameras in the last year.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many body cameras have been provided to ambulance trusts in the last year.

Edward Argar: NSH England and NHS Improvement advise that 11 ambulance trusts in England have been provided with 9,641 body worn cameras in the last year.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to reduce waiting times to access an initial appointment with gender identity services.

Maria Caulfield: The National Health Service continues to establish new pilot gender dysphoria clinics under a new delivery model for this service. Pilot clinics have already opened in London, Cheshire and Merseyside, Manchester and the East of England and a further clinic is planned to open in Sussex later this year. These clinics will begin evaluation process to establish the viability of the new clinical models. This will reduce waiting times for patients and ensure the availability of these services for transgender people.

Long Covid: Children

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the funding provided by Government for research into an agreed paediatric definition of Long Covid; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that funding.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including post- COVID-19 syndrome. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the NIHR’s funding is dependent on the volume and quality of scientific activity.The NIHR and UK Research and Innovation have awarded £1.36 million over three years for a study ‘Children and young people with Long Covid: CLoCK’, by University College London and Great Ormond Street’s Institute of Child Health. The NIHR awarded a further £468,661 to the study to support additional recruitment and further analyses. The study’s three-month findings were recently published in the Lancet at the following link:https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(22)00022-0/fulltextFurther findings will be published shortly.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 113157 on Meningitis: Vaccination, what steps his Department has taken to monitor the MenB vaccination programme in the context of the rising case numbers of meningitis B.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency uses general practice level data to monitor the performance of the MenB vaccination programme. Once validated, this data is analysed and used to inform efforts to increase uptake and address any inequalities which could impact case numbers.

Public Health: Finance

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to analysis in the Local Government Association's public health annual report, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of funding for the public health grant; and if he will make it his policy to introduce long term funding increases, including an extension of the Contain Outbreak Management Fund.

Maria Caulfield: The Government confirmed that the Public Health Grant for local authorities will increase in each of the next three years. In 2022/23, each local authority will receive a 2.81% increase, taking total funding to £3.417 billion. In addition, we have announced specific investment to tackle obesity, improve Start for Life for families and the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment. Future funding for local authorities for COVID-19 measures remains under consideration.

Palliative Care

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of end of life care provided in the community in response to Hospice UK’s estimate that almost 67,000 people have died at home since the start of the covid-19 pandemic without the right end of life care in place.

Gillian Keegan: During the pandemic, over £400 million has been made available to hospices to increase additional capacity and enable patients to be discharged from hospitals. Palliative and end of life care (PEoLC) services are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), which are responsible for planning and commissioning of high-quality, cost-effective services that meet the needs of the local population. NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed seven PEoLC strategic clinical networks to work with CCGs to develop and implement sustainable commissioning models, including provision of services in the community where appropriate.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to respond to the recommendations made by the Select Committee on Health and Social Care in its Report entitled Children and Young People's Mental Health, published on 9 December 2021; and if he make a statement.

Gillian Keegan: The Department’s response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report was published on 17 March 2022 and is available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-government-response

Mental Health: Audiobooks

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of research from the National Literacy Trust and Audible on the impact of listening to audiobooks on the mental health and wellbeing of adults in the UK.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of research from the National Literacy Trust and Audible on the impact of listening to audiobooks on people's health and wellbeing; and if he will make it his policy to support the campaign to reduce VAT on audiobooks.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. Taxation is a matter for HM Treasury.

Platinum Jubilee 2022: Medals

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that air ambulance first responders without NHS ambulance trust experience should be eligible for a Platinum Jubilee Medal in the event that they meet the five-year service rule; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will update the criteria for a Platinum Jubilee Medal to ensure that air ambulance staff who do not have NHS ambulance trust service are eligible for the award.

Edward Argar: The Platinum Jubilee Medal eligibility criteria were agreed across Government, the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, confirmed by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals and approved by Her Majesty. Individual Government departments are responsible for eligibility decisions regarding the award of the Medal to their staff and other organisations sponsored by that department.Frontline emergency services personnel who have been in paid service, retained or in a voluntary capacity through a National Health Service ambulance trust, who publicly face the prospect of dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of service and have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2022 are eligible for the Platinum Jubilee medal. There is no intention to change the eligibility criteria for the Platinum Jubilee Medal, which follows the precedent set for the Diamond Jubilee.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry of 25 January 2022 from the hon. Member for High Peak, reference RL30911.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 28 March 2022.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients registered under the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust have waited over 18 months for an operation in each year since 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust does not hold data before 2017. The following table shows the number of patients registered under the Trust who have waited more than 78 weeks for an operation in each year since 2017/18. 2017/1852018/1902019/2002020/21422021/22 – to February 2022387 The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’, published in February 2022, sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. The plan commits to eliminate waiting times of over 18 months by April 2023.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the letter dated 17 February 2022 from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 24 March 2022.

Olaparib

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make the pancreatic cancer treatment Lynparza available to NHS patients.

Edward Argar: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service in England on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.NICE has been unable to make a recommendation on the use of Lynparza (olaparib) for the maintenance treatment of BRCA mutation-positive metastatic pancreatic cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy as the company did not make an evidence submission. Olaprarib is not therefore currently routinely funded by the NHS in England for pancreatic cancer. NICE will review this decision should the company make a submission.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce infection rates in areas experiencing comparatively high occupancy rates of hospital beds from people with covid-19 and (b) provide additional support to those areas in order to prevent delay to patients who require hospital interventions.

Edward Argar: The UK Health Security Agency and NHS England and NHS Improvement provide guidance on infection prevention and control measures to reduce COVID-19 infection rates in hospital settings. This includes physical distancing, such as between beds on a ward, more intensive cleaning and reorganising hospitals into different zones. The latest advice recommends that these measures are managed according to local needs. National Health Service hospitals are being supported to safely increase capacity and prevent delays to patients requiring hospital interventions. This includes the use of ‘virtual wards’ and ‘hospital at home’ models of care, allowing for patients to be safely cared for in their own homes; using non-acute beds in the community including those in the independent sector; and establishing a new national discharge taskforce to safely maximise patient discharge and increase bed capacity.

Long Covid: Medical Treatments and Research

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of investing £100 million-per-annum into long covid-19 (a) research and (b) treatment from 2022 onwards.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has invested £50 million for research projects into the long term impacts of COVID-19 infection. While no assessment of future funding for research has yet been made, the National Institute for Health Research continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including post-COVID-19 syndrome.NHS England and NHS Improvement have invested £224 million to develop and deliver services for people experiencing persistent symptoms following COVID-19 infection, this includes £90 million for 2022/23. No assessment has yet been made for funding beyond 2022/23.

Department for Education

Teachers: Re-employment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant the Answer of 17 March 2022 to Question 141972 on Teachers: Re-employment, whether he has made an assessment of the overall success of the initial call for volunteers to re-enter the teaching profession.

Mr Robin Walker: The department’s priority continues to be to maintain high-quality, face-to-face education for all children and young people. Temporary staff, including supply teachers, have played a key role in this as schools have faced higher workforce absence rates, particularly over Winter, due to the Omicron variant. We remain hugely grateful to all school and college staff for their work, which has consistently kept over 99.9% of schools open this term.The department is extremely grateful to all the teachers who responded to the campaign. Our ambition was for as many teachers as possible to make themselves available and return to the classroom as supply teachers, supporting schools to maintain face-to-face education. Each one is making a difference to the education of their pupils and makes a valuable contribution to our aim of maintaining face-to-face education in schools.

Educational Institutions: Energy

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications to the Salix Energy Efficiency Fund have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected as of 24 March 2022.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many education settings have had their applications to the Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (a) accepted and (b) rejected, by parliamentary constituency, as of 24 March 2022.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many education settings have had their applications to the Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (a) accepted and (b) rejected, by local authority, as of 24 March 2022.

Mr Robin Walker: The Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) is a bid-based capital funding programme that launched in 2016 and closed in March 2021 to provide interest free loans to academies and sixth form colleges to undertake capital works to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) funded the programme and Salix Finance administered the application round and the project approvals on behalf of BEIS. The loan payment and repayments are implemented and managed by the Department for Education.The tables attached show, by constituency and local authority, the number of schools and other education providers that applied to SEEF during the five financial years the fund operated, how many of those were awarded funding, and how many were not awarded funding.In summary, 1,054 applications in total were made to SEEF, 666 applications were funded, and 388 were not awarded funding.978 establishments applied for funding through SEEF, 646 were awarded funding, and 332 were not awarded funding.146732_146733_146734_table (xls, 90.5KB)

National Tutoring Programme: Advertising

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Tutoring Programme advert published on Twitter on 2 March 2022, if he will publish the (a) CPM and (b) cost per result of (i) that tweet, (ii) all other tweets within the same advertising campaign and (iii) all other tweets being promoted by, for, or on behalf of his Department as of 24 March 2022.

Mr Robin Walker: Since the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) began in November 2020, over one million courses have started, and the programme remains on track to achieve the ambitious target of delivering two million high-quality tuition courses this academic year.All programme costs are included as part of the £1.1 billion investment in the NTP. All key information about the programme is communicated to schools and the public using a range of medium, including social media.£150,000 is allocated for year two of the NTP on all communications activities. Paid-for marketing includes a mixture of digital advertising, social media, public relations and events. £95,000 of the £150,000 has been spent to date.Communication and marketing undertaken by the department for the NTP does not have any additional costs.

British Students Abroad: Ukraine

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of British (a) students and (b) medical students studying in Ukraine whose education has been disrupted as a result of the Russian invasion of that country.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of British (a) students and (b) medical students studying in Russia whose education has been disrupted as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine or subsequent international sanctions on Russia.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the capacity of British universities to support the continuing education of British (a) students and (b) medical students who had been studying in Ukraine or Russia and whose education has been disrupted as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine or subsequent international sanctions on Russia.

Michelle Donelan: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice is that British nationals should leave Ukraine immediately if they judge it is safe to do so. The government does not track the location of British nationals when they travel. However, we are pleased that the majority of these students have now returned to the UK.The government is very sympathetic to those students that have had their studies disrupted and will look to support UK students returning from Russia and Ukraine as they reassess their options in the UK. The department has asked universities to treat these students sensitively.I have convened the Higher Education (HE) Taskforce, bringing together representatives from across the sector to discuss how we can work together to facilitate the progression of Ukrainian students to HE. There are still many courses available through UCAS that students can apply for, and we would encourage them to engage in conversations with their preferred HE providers to understand the full range of options available specifically to them.The department recognises that, for a variety of reasons, many students that were studying medicine in Ukraine cannot be accommodated on medicine courses. Therefore, we are encouraging universities to consider alternative options to allow these students to continue their studies. These include related courses in the biological sciences or subjects allied to medicine.The department is also looking into how the HE sector can support Ukrainian HE providers should it be appropriate or feasible for elements of the course or exams to be delivered remotely and I have recently written to the HE sector asking them to be flexible and sensitive when considering applications for entry onto courses.Whilst HE providers are autonomous and independent from government, we are encouraging them to be as flexible as possible for all students impacted by the situation in Ukraine and where they are facing challenges, to ensure support is given where it is most needed.

Free School Meals: Migrants

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 88857 on Free School Meals: Migrants, when he expects his Department’s evaluation of access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds to be completed.

Will Quince: The department will be extending free school meal (FSM) eligibility to children from all groups with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). More information on this can be found in written statement HCWS714, available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-03-24/hcws714.Information on the number of children who received a free meal, and attracted pupil premium funding under the temporary extension of FSM eligibility to some NRPF households in the 2021/22 financial year can be found in the third document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2021-to-2022.

Pupil Exclusions: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many exclusions from school occurred in (a) York and (b) York Central constituency; and how many exclusions from school of pupils with SEN occurred in (a) York and (ii) the York Central constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Will Quince: There were 13 permanent exclusions and 906 suspensions of pupils from schools in York during the 2019/20 academic year. Eight of the permanent exclusions and 399 of the suspensions were of pupils with special educational needs (SEN). These figures are from the annual publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england/2019-20.There were five permanent exclusions and 472 suspensions of pupils from schools in the York Central constituency during the 2019/20 academic year. Three of the permanent exclusions and 231 of the suspensions were of pupils with SEN.

Special Educational Needs: Teachers

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to promote the recruitment of special educational needs and disability support staff in schools.

Will Quince: The department is committed to enabling the potential of every pupil through maintaining a high-quality teaching workforce. Over 37,000 new trainee teachers were recruited to start training in the academic year 2021/22. We are enhancing the appeal of teaching by raising the starting salary for teachers to £30,000 to ensure teaching remains a popular graduate option.All teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It is a requirement for Teachers’ Standards to be fully incorporated into Initial Teacher Training courses. Before Qualified Teacher Status is gained, trainee teachers must be able to understand and respond to the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND.Through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, we fund the Whole School SEND (WSS) consortium to equip staff in mainstream and special schools to deliver high quality teaching to all pupils with SEND. A further £2 million of funding is being provided in the 2021/22 financial year for WSS to continue this work.

Adoption and Foster Care: Government Assistance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to provide equal support to foster parents and adoptive parents including through provision of (a) training, (b) respite and (c) financial support.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to help ensure adoptive parents can access medical support and treatment for mental health conditions.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to enable adopted children to access medical support and treatment for mental health conditions.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent body to investigate the conduct of local authorities during the adoption process.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department provides to schools on providing (a) social, (b) emotional and (c) mental health support to children going through the adoption process.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure (a) collaboration and (b) information sharing between (i) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), (ii) GPs and (iii) adoption support workers providing care to children with mental health issues.

Will Quince: Foster parents and adoptive parents receive support in different ways, as their roles and responsibilities differ. Foster parents look after children on behalf of a local authority, and decision-making for the child is shared. Adopters become the child’s new permanent legal parents and make all parental decisions.We are committed to ensuring foster parents get appropriate recognition, support and training. In July 2018, we published ‘Fostering Better Outcomes’, which sets out our ambitions and priorities for improving the outcomes and experiences of children in foster care.The government’s adoption strategy, ‘Achieving Excellence Everywhere’ (July 2021), sets out a vision to support Regional Adoption Agency leaders to secure adopters who are well-prepared to meet the needs of children waiting for adoption. It also commits to the development of national standards for adoption support services.Adoptive parents can access medical support and treatment for mental health conditions from mainstream NHS services. The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) provides support to help adoptive children and families overcome earlier trauma, such as through psychotherapy, family and creative therapies. The ASF has supported nearly 40,000 children to date, and we are investing a further £144 million over the next 3 years.Most children are adopted before they reach school age, but we recognise the need to support children both before and after adoption. We are seeking to improve mental health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges and have committed to fund training for all senior mental health leads by 2025.Looked-after children of school age going through the adoption process are also entitled to support from designated teachers and the local authority virtual school heads. The child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP) will include support when a child has a plan for permanence, such as through adoption. The PEP will identify developmental needs, including any related to attachment and past trauma, and outline support for any mental health needs.The adoption strategy sets out an ambition that all Regional Adoption Agencies will have strong education policies, working with local virtual school heads and designated teachers to use the best practice to drive high quality support for adopted children in schools across the country.To support better collaboration and information sharing between health services and local authorities, the adoption strategy sets out a commitment to build on the success of the two current Regional Adoption Agency Centres of Excellence. We will be providing funding to other Regional Adoption Agencies to develop Centres that provide joined up assessment and packages of support across children’s social care, education, and health, including better access to children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).Ofsted is responsible for independent inspection of the effectiveness of local authority children’s social care services. Ofsted’s inspection framework includes consideration of permanence arrangements for children who are looked after, including adoption. Ofsted also reviews the effectiveness of leadership and management, and the quality of professional practice.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Proceedings: Royal Commissions

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to establish a Royal Commission on the criminal justice process.

James Cartlidge: The pandemic has meant significant new programmes of work have been established in the criminal justice system to support recovery and build back better. In the last few months alone, we have published a Victims consultation, a Prisons White Paper, the first national and local criminal justice scorecards and started a consultation on a Bill of Rights. We have also announced the most ambitious reform of criminal legal aid in decades, with the total level of investment being the highest in a decade. Our focus is on delivering these priorities over the coming months. We continue to keep issues in the wider criminal justice system under review.

Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018: Convictions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for offences under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018 involving an NHS worker there have been in each of the last three years.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for offences under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018 there have been in each of the last three years.

James Cartlidge: Information on assaults on NHS workers cannot be separately identified from wider assault on emergency worker offences. The information may be held on court record but to be able to identify cases in which an NHS worker specifically was assaulted would require examining individual court transcripts which would be of disproportionate cost. Information on the number of convictions for the specific offence up to the end of 2020 can be found in our Outcomes by Offence data tool here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx. As the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 came into force in November 2018, the 2018 data does not cover the full year. Improvements to our data processes currently underway have identified a number of convictions at Crown Court for this offence that have been excluded from the data tool linked above. We estimate this will add around a further 1650 convictions over the period since the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018 was commenced. The number of convictions presented in the tool can therefore be considered to undercount by around 1650 over the three year period, and will be updated in May 2022.

Reoffenders: Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish figures for the number of people in England and Wales who are given community sentences and then reoffend within a year for each of the last ten years.

James Cartlidge: This data is available at this link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1049654/proven-reoffending-jan20-mar20-annual_Final.ods.

Reoffenders: Sentencing

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish figures for the proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences who had previously received at least one community sentence for each of the last ten years.

James Cartlidge: Data showing the proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences who have previously had at least one community sentence for each of the last ten years, is published on the Police National Computer. This can be viewed in the table below. Table showing the proportion of offenders1, 2 sentenced to immediate custody3 in each year, 2011-2020, who previously4 received at least one community order5, prior to the immediate custodial sentence. England and Wales6YearProportion of offenders who received at least one community order prior to an immediate custodial sentence201146%201249%201352%201454%201554%201655%201756%201857%201958%202059%Source: MoJ extract of the Police National Computer1 - 'Proportion' refers to: The number of offenders in each year who received an immediate custodial sentence in each year and had at least one previous community order as a proportion of all offenders who received an immediate custodial sentence in the same year.2 - Offenders are counted once in each year but may appear in multiple years if they received an immediate custodial sentence in more than one of the ten years.3- Immediate custodial sentences include types of detention other than adult prison (e.g. detention and training orders given to 10 to 17 year olds or detention in Young Offenders Institutions). An offender sentenced to immediate custody does not necessarily mean that the offender is a member of the prison population.4 - Previous community orders may have been received at any time prior to the index offence (last immediate custodial sentence) in each year.5 - Community orders include all community orders, with or without electronic monitoring or curfew restrictions, but excludes other types of community sentences (e.g. youth rehabilitation order) and other sentences that may be served in the community (e.g. suspended sentence).6 - England and Wales includes all 43 police force areas plus the British Transport Police.

Julian Assange

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have held with US counterparts in which the incarceration of Julian Assange was discussed since April 2019; on what dates those meetings were held; and who was present at those meetings.

James Cartlidge: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Mental Health: Departmental Coordination

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on the development of the cross-government strategy on mental health.

Tom Pursglove: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) plans to launch a public discussion paper this Spring to inform the development of a new longer-term plan for improving mental health and wellbeing. This will enable a series of wide-ranging and ambitious conversations about the potential solutions available, both within and beyond government and the NHS.My department has, and will continue, to work with DHSC to ensure that the needs of those in contact with the criminal justice system, both victims and offenders, are embedded into the development of this plan. Minister Atkins is also an active member of the ministerial group responsible for overseeing the development of the plan.

Cemeteries

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to section 2.23 of his Department's guidance entitled Burial Grounds: Guidance for Managers, which states that burial authorities may contribute towards the provision or maintenance of burial grounds in which their inhabitants may be buried, whether burial grounds in 2.23 includes churchyards.

Tom Pursglove: Paragraph 2.23 of Burial Grounds: Guidance for Managers refers to section 214 of the Local Government Act 1972. Subsection 214(6) provides that a local authority burial authority may contribute towards the provision or maintenance of any cemetery in which their inhabitants are buried. For the purposes of section 214(6), the definition of “cemetery” (in subsection 214(8)) is “a burial ground or any other place for the interment of the dead (including any part of any such place set aside for the interment of a dead person’s ashes).” This would include a churchyard if it is used as a burial ground.

Prison Officers: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the risks faced by prison officers in London; and what steps he is taking to improve the safety of prison officers.

Victoria Atkins: Violence against our dedicated staff will never be tolerated. We work closely with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who are violent towards staff will face the full consequences of their actions. We continue to support the effective use of the current 6,000 Body Worn Video Cameras across the estate, enabling every operational band 3-5 officer on duty to carry a camera, gathering vital evidence to enable prosecutions, and improve safety outcomes.Continuous analysis is being undertaken to look at staff assaults within prison, and we are committed to making prisons a safe place to work and providing prison officers with the right support, training, and tools to empower them to do their jobs. As London prisons ease restrictions, they will be focusing on analysing regime and violence data to improve our understanding of the links between the two, using the opportunity we have in re-opening our regimes to engage in conflict resolution and restorative justice work. Safety is a key priority area for prisons, and we have committed to invest £34m of ring-fenced investment over the next three years to improve key safety outcomes by making prisons safer for both prisoners and staff. Further, we are continuing to deliver on our £100 million security investment programme with X-ray body scanners being installed in prisons across the estate along with the establishment and expansion of our Serious Organised Crime unit, and Crime in Prisons taskforce.

Magistrates' Courts

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of (a) receipts, (b) disposals and (c) cases outstanding for cases in magistrates courts in England and Wales by (i) offence group, (ii) region, (iii) local criminal justice board area and (iv) Crown court for each quarter in each year since 2010.

James Cartlidge: Data on receipts, disposals and outstanding caseloads in the magistrates’ (from 2012) and Crown courts (from 2014) are published in the Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly publications and associated tables here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics. Additional spreadsheet tools to further examine the receipts, disposals and outstanding caseloads in criminal courts including geographical breakdowns are set out in the latest Magistrates’ court tool (since 2016): (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1047817/mags_rdos_tool.xlsx). And Crown court tool (since 2014): (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1047819/cc_rdos_tool.xlsx).We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our courts and tribunals system. We are extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months' imprisonment for a single Triable Either Way offence, to allow more cases to be heard in the magistrates’ court. This important measure will provide vital additional capacity in the Crown Court, keeping more sentencing hearings in the magistrates’ courts and helping to drive down the backlog of cases over the coming years.We invested a quarter of a billion pounds to support recovery in the last financial year (20/21). In the recent Spending Review, more than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and accelerate recovery from the pandemic in courts and tribunals. This increased funding will enable us to hear more cases and reduce backlogs. We are extending 13 Nightingale courts beyond the end of March 2022. This equates to 30 extra courtrooms, mainly dealing with criminal work, but also some civil and family cases. We have also removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 21/22 financial year, and in the next financial year we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid (116,700 in 22/23 compared to 97,000 in 19/20).

Prison Officers: Drugs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for possession with intent to supply drugs in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: We will never tolerate drug supply and consumption in prisons. Drugs have a significant impact on prison life, causing safety and security issues and creating barriers to successful rehabilitation. HM Prison & Probation Service does not hold data specifically on prison officers that have been prosecuted or convicted for possession with intent to supply drugs, as this information would be held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). CPS data does not, however, record defendant’s job roles, so this data is not available. HMPPS is proactive in detecting, investigating and taking disciplinary action against the very small number of prison staff who break the rules, and we do not hesitate to involve the police where necessary.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's policy is on offender behaviour programmes.

Victoria Atkins: HMPPS policy is to provide rehabilitative services, including offending behaviour programmes, to offenders in accordance with the sentence handed down by the courts, within custody, and via the enforcement of licence conditions.

Youth Custody: Solitary Confinement

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of instances of (a) solitary confinement and (b) prolonged solitary confinement in (i) Young Offender Institutions, (ii) Secure Training Centres and (iii) Secure Children’s Homes in each of the last five years.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve data collection on the use of restraint in the Youth Custody Service.

Victoria Atkins: The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority and we are clear that physical restraint should only be used where it is a reasonable, proportionate and necessary response. The information requested on the number of instances of (a) solitary confinement and (b) prolonged solitary confinement in (i) Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), (ii) Secure Training Centres (STCs) and (iii) Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs) in each of the last five years is not held centrally and could not be collated without incurring disproportionate cost. Data on the use of physical restraint at secure settings in the secure youth estate is published in the Youth Justice annual statistics which can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2020-to-2021In the future we will keep the collection of data on the use of physical restraint in the secure youth estate under review in line with any policy developments or changes in syllabus.

Young Offenders: Education

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that young people held in custody are able to catch up on education missed as a result of covid-19 restrictions.

Victoria Atkins: Face-to-face education delivery to young people was provided throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in line with the establishments’ Exceptional Delivery Models. Providers adopted a blended learning approach to delivery, combining face-to-face and in-room education. The decrease in classroom hours was also offset by the community learning model, allowing young people to access groups on their landings. Education providers (Novus at Cookham Wood, Werrington & Wetherby and Prospects at Feltham A) are contracted to deliver a broad range of learning, training and work-based opportunities for a cohort of boys aged 15-18 years old. Learners study a core curriculum of English, Maths, ICT and as part of each pathway, educational PE and a mix of vocational training, creative arts and personal & social development.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Morocco

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she has taken to increase trade with the Kingdom of Morocco this year.

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans she has to reach an agreement on investment with the Kingdom of Morocco.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Bilateral trade between the United Kingdom and Morocco was worth £1.8 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021, up £124 million on the same period the previous year. Our trade relationship is underpinned by the United Kingdom-Morocco Association Agreement. The Association Council met in December 2021 to discuss commercial opportunities and to establish a new trade sub-committee, tasked with identifying opportunities to enhance trade and investment and to address market access barriers. The United Kingdom already has a Bilateral Investment Treaty with Morocco, which came into force in 2002. The Association Agreement, which came into effect on 1st January 2021, contains provisions on investment too.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Egypt: Copts

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support is being provided to Coptic Christian women in Egypt who are the victims of abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage.

James Cleverly: The Government of Egypt has stated its commitment to protecting the rights of Coptic Christians and freedom of worship. We are encouraged by positive steps in recent years, including President Sisi's public commitments, to uphold the rights of minorities and freedom of worship. The UK Government is providing support to an Egyptian Government initiative to raise awareness of a number of social issues, including religious diversity and forced marriage. The Prime Minister and President Sisi have discussed the importance of protecting freedom of religion and belief, most recently during their meeting in Glasgow on 1 November. Lord Ahmad discussed freedom of religion and belief with Egypt's Ambassador to the UK in March 2022 and we will continue to raise these important issues.

Afghanistan: Humanitarian Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the £286 million in humanitarian assistance pledged to Afghanistan in this financial year has been disbursed as of 24 March 2022.

James Cleverly: As of 25 March, all of the £286 million committed in this financial year has been transferred to partners.

Pakistan: Females

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of implications for her policies on provision of aid to Pakistan of human rights violations against women in that country.

James Cleverly: Our funding targets the country's poorest and most vulnerable citizens, including women and girls. Between 2015 and 2021, the UK supported 2.1 million children to undertake decent primary and secondary education, of whom one million were girls. Since 2012, UKAid has reached over 1.7 million new family planning users and prevented 8,203 maternal deaths, over 7.37 million unwanted pregnancies, and 1.68 million unsafe abortions in Pakistan. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly addresses early and forced marriages and gender-based violence. We regularly raise concerns around women and girls' rights at senior levels with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan last year, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia and the Minister responsible for Human Rights, met Prime Minister Imran Khan, as well as other senior Government Ministers, and raised concerns over numerous human rights issues, including violations against women.

Afghanistan: Education

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the number and proportion of Afghan (a) children and (b) girls who are out of school; and if she will make a statement.

James Cleverly: Education was a key success of the last twenty years in Afghanistan. School enrolment improved greatly, growing from 1 million students in 2001 (10% girls) to nearly 10 million in 2021 (38% girls). UNICEF estimated that 3.7 million children are out-of-school in Afghanistan, 60% of them are girls. The Taliban's actions to ban girls from secondary school have only driven this number higher and we are working with international partners to understand the full impact. The UK deplores the Taliban's decision to prevent girls returning to secondary school education. We have joined the international community in condemnation, including signing shared statements shared international statements, and making our views clear at the UNSC. Afghan women at home and in the diaspora here in the UK have demanded that girls' right to education be upheld, and we stand with them.We call on the Taliban to urgently reverse this decision and allow all girls to go to school.

Lebanon: Visits Abroad

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Libyan armed groups provided security during the then Foreign Secretary's visit to Tripoli in May 2017.

James Cleverly: The UK does not disclose the security arrangements for VIP travel.

Companies: Environment Protection and Human Rights

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that corporations licenced in the UK do not (a) abuse human rights and (b) cause environmental damage.

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to prevent international companies incorporated in the UK from committing human rights abuses and causing environmental damage both domestically and internationally.

Vicky Ford: The Government is clear that it expects all businesses that carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Additionally, financial penalties will be introduced to drive compliance with this reporting requirement. This requires primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are a set of voluntary principles and standards for businesses to encourage responsible business practices, including human rights, labour standards and environment.We have introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. We consulted from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the detail of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions. The Government will publish a summary of responses within 12 weeks of the consultation's close.

Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart regarding the Chinese Government's support for Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands.

Vicky Ford: We reject any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands. The Falklands are part of the British family and we will defend their right of self-determination. China must respect the Falklands' sovereignty and my Department has been in direct contact with the Chinese Embassy to convey this position.

Guatemala: Abortion

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the increased prison sentences for women who have abortions in Guatemala.

Vicky Ford: The UK monitors the human rights situation in Guatemala closely, particularly women's rights. A recently proposed "Law for the Protection of Life and Family", which included increased prison sentences for women who have had abortions in Guatemala, was vetoed by Guatemalan President Giammattei this month. The British Embassy in Guatemala has raised the UK's concerns on women's rights directly with the Guatemalan government, including with the Presidential Secretariat for Women. The UK is also currently funding a regional project, including in Guatemala, focused on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, with the objective of strengthening local women's organisations' ability to identify priorities and challenges to ending violence.

Overseas Companies: Indigenous Peoples

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of considering the principle of free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous communities as a legal requirement for companies incorporated in the UK but operating overseas in and around indigenous lands.

Vicky Ford: The Government is fully committed to promoting and protecting human rights for all individuals, including indigenous people. The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To further bolster our commitment to tackle modern slavery, in January 2021, the UK Government announced that financial penalties will be introduced for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. We have also enhanced Companies Act reporting (2013, 2016) and the UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Foreign Companies: Human Rights

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect human rights around the world from negligence and malpractice of transnational mining corporations incorporated in the UK.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government works through a number of international mechanisms including supporting the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which enables businesses to operate responsibly in conflict affected and high risk areas and as a member of the Kimberley Process to help stem the flow of conflict diamonds.The UK is also a member of the Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights which promote a set of principles to guide companies in the extractives sector to maintain the safety and security of their operations in a manner that reduces the risk of human rights abuses including in local communities.More broadly, the Government expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Russia: Aircraft

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her oral contribution of 28 February 2022, Official Report, column 724, in response to the question from the hon. Member for Rochdale, whether she has determined whether a breach of the sanctions regime took place in respect of a sanctioned jet twice landing at Luton Airport in January; and what steps she plans to take to determine how such a breach occurred in the event that it did.

Vicky Ford: The UK and our partners continue to put pressure on the Lukashenko regime and those who support it, including through tough sanctions. On 1 March we announced a first tranche of sanctions against Belarusian individuals and organisations in response to the role the country is playing in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including facilitating the invasion from within its borders. These designations are in addition to the wide-ranging measures we have already imposed on Belarus under our Belarus sanctions regime, which include sanctions on President Lukashenko and 117 other individuals and entities as well as trade, financial and aviation sanctions. The UK's Belarus sanctions prohibit the direct or indirect provision of technical assistance to or for the benefit of designated persons, where that assistance relates to any aircraft. HM Revenue and Customs are responsible for enforcing trade sanctions measures on the provision of technical assistance.

Julian Assange

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role her Department had in Operation Pelican; how many staff of her Department were assigned to work relating to that operation; and what the total cost of her Department's work on that operation was.

Vicky Ford: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given in PQ 136677 by the Minister for Crime and Policing on 18 March 2022. Operation Pelican was led by the Metropolitan Police. No Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials were directly assigned to work on Operation Pelican. During this time, officials in the FCDO continued to manage the diplomatic relationship between the UK and Ecuador.

Argentina: China

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policy of the Argentine Government's decision to join China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Vicky Ford: China is an important source of aid, trade and investment for many countries and Argentina is free to pursue its economic, social and cultural development as it sees fit. What's important is that in the UK we demonstrate confidence in our own model, our democracy and our values. By championing our ideas, building our influence and inspiring others, we can forge ahead as a global network of liberty.

BHP: Compensation

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the efforts of British incorporated company, BHP, to compensate the victims of the 2015 Fundão disaster in Brazil.

Vicky Ford: It would not be appropriate to comment as this matter is the subject of ongoing litigation.

Chris Cleave

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Mexican Government counterpart regarding the murder of Chris Cleave in that country.

Vicky Ford: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has raised Mr Christopher Cleave's case with the relevant Mexican authorities. The FCDO is also providing Mr Cleave's family with dedicated consular assistance.

Sudan: Democracy

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support pro-democracy groups in Sudan.

Vicky Ford: Since the military coup in October 2021, Ministers, British Embassy staff in Khartoum and senior FCDO officials have encouraged all Sudanese political actors to engage in dialogue and sought to demonstrate our support for Sudan's transition to democracy. We have also consistently called for an end to arbitrary detentions, the immediate lifting of the State of Emergency and for Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. The UK also provides support to the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), as the UN mission mandated to support Sudan's transition to democracy. In addition to this, we provide targeted support to non-state actors and civil society groups working towards inclusive political processes.Working with partners, including the US, Norway, EU, Saudi Arabia and UAE, we will continue to use our diplomatic engagement in Khartoum, the region and elsewhere to support the next phase of talks that the UN and African Union will facilitate. This includes maintaining pressure on the military to engage and deliver the people's demands for freedom, peace and justice; a message delivered on 3 March in meetings with Sudan's military leadership in Khartoum by senior FCDO officials.

Nicaragua: Sanctions

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has plans for further sanctions on the Nicaraguan Government.

Vicky Ford: The UK's sanctions measures against Nicaraguan officials are part of a wider set of UK actions aimed at promoting democracy and respect for human rights in Nicaragua. Most recently, the UK announced a further eight designations in November 2021 following undemocratic elections. We continue to work with partners in the region and our allies to press the Nicaraguan Government to end the repression in the country. We will keep the situation under close review.

Nicaragua: Political Prisoners

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Nicaraguan counterpart regarding the imprisonment of President Ortega's political opponents in that country.

Vicky Ford: The Nicaraguan elections of 7 November 2021 were neither free nor fair. The authorities used their powers to detain and threaten Presidential candidates and therefore prevented the Nicaraguan people from making a democratic choice. The arrests of political leaders violated the guarantees in the Nicaraguan Constitution; the UK continues to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua and for the full restoration of their civil and political rights. We have made the views of the UK government clear when meeting representatives of the Nicaraguan authorities in London, in Managua, and at multilateral fora. We have published a series of statements highlighting the UK's deep concern about the deterioration of political and human rights in Nicaragua and the subversion of democratic processes, including at the UN Human Rights Council earlier this month. We are working closely with partners to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Nicaragua.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Equality

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will launch an inquiry into diversity and inclusion in the Armed Forces.

Leo Docherty: There are no plans to establish a dedicated inquiry. Diversity and Inclusion in the Armed Forces has already been subject to recent and extensive independent scrutiny both within the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and by Parliament. The MOD has a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion Directorate driving forward progress in this area. The new Veterans Strategy Action plan underlines the Government's unwavering commitment to making real progress in addressing past wrongs that some members of our Armed Forces community, including women and LGBT personnel, may have faced.

Nuclear Submarines: Radioactive Waste

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his most recent estimate is for the date of completion of the dismantling work on the Revenge submarine and the removal of its component low level radioactive waste.

Jeremy Quin: The removal of component low level radioactive waste has been successfully and safely completed on the submarine, REVENGE, marking the completion of its initial phase of dismantling work.A demonstrator submarine is being used to define and refine the dismantling process. As the demonstrator programme progresses, the outcomes will provide more certainty in the date when REVENGE will be fully dismantled.

Ministry of Defence: Land

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has plans to assess other countries’ practice in respect of the disposal of surplus government land, including Italy, France and Germany where redundant defence sites are given to agencies separate from defence ministries.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence works in accordance with HMT guidelines for the disposal of land. Once a site is declared surplus to Defence it is first advertised on a cross-Government database to see if it is required for other Government purposes, before if that is not the case being advertised on the open market. On sale we seek to maximise sales receipts for the taxpayer.

British Overseas Territories: Armed Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people from the British Overseas Territories have served in the British Armed forces in each of the last five years, by each Overseas Territory.

Leo Docherty: The table below shows the number of personnel from the British Overseas Territories serving in the trained and untrained Regular and Reserve Armed Forces between 2017 and 2021. Nationality is recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. JPA allows personnel to select British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC), or one of five specific territories. The vast majority of personnel select the BOTC option. It is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown of all British Overseas Territories.  Table 1: Number of British Overseas Territory1 UK Regulars2 and Future Reserves 20203 personnel serving in each calendar year4 between 2017 and 2021.   20172018201920202021   British Overseas Territory Citizen516015014011070   British Virgin Islander~~~~~   Cayman Islander~~---   Gibraltarian~~~~~   Monserratian~~~~~   St Helenian101010~~   Grand Total17016015012080   Notes: Nationality is as recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration database. Primary nationality has been used, so people with only a secondary nationality of a British Overseas Territory have not been included.   UK Regulars include Full-time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding FTRS personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, MPGS, LEP and NRPS.   Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, HRR and volunteer reserve personnel serving on ADC or FTRS contracts. Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20. Non Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) and University Officer Cadets and Regular Reservists are excluded.   If a service person has been recorded as having a British Overseas Territory as a primary Nationality at least once within each year, then they have been recorded once within that year.   British Overseas Territories Citizens includes personnel from Anguila, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands. This could mean the populations for British Virgin Islander, Cayman Islander, Gibraltarian, Monserratian and St Helenian are under-represented.   Figures for both UK Regulars and FR20 include both trained and untrained personnel.  Figures in this publication have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in a “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent the systematic bias caused by always rounding numbers upwards. Figures 5 or less have been indicated with a "~" and where there are no personnel has been indicated by a "-".

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing a form of recognition for people who were stationed on Christmas Island and affected by the test bombs during 1957 and 1958; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 March 2022 to Question 132301 to the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant MP).Radiation Exposure: Compensation (docx, 19.2KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Cost of Living: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help support people in Slough constituency to meet the increased costs of living.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cost of Living: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increases in cost of living on people in receipt of benefits living in Slough constituency.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Household Support Fund

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting low income families; and if she will make a statement.

David Rutley: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Personal Independence Payment: Veterans

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder have (a) had a claim for Personal Independence Payments rejected at assessment and (b) have subsequently had decisions overturned on review in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chloe Smith: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Pension Credit

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2022 to Question 143642, how many people are eligible for pension credit in Great Britain as of 24 March 2022.

Guy Opperman: According to the latest data, 2,260,000 people were eligible for Pension Credit in Great Britain for the financial year ending 2020. The published data tables can be accessed here: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Funds: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s proposals on net-zero transition plans, whether it is her policy that pension schemes will be required to publish transition plans.

Guy Opperman: Yes.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Burial

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of proposed reforms to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 on small burial grounds across the country.

Rebecca Pow: From September to December 2021, Defra held a public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR). The consultation proposed that the EPR should be amended to allow the Environment Agency to issue an exemption from permitting for small-scale cemeteries in low environmental risk settings. The consultation set out a draft of these exemption conditions that defined the circumstances where cemeteries could be exempt from needing a groundwater activity permit. The Government assessed that the introduction of exemption conditions for small scale cemeteries would have only a small impact on the sector because there are no fees associated with this new approach. If an operator can comply with the rules as set out in the exemption conditions, they do not need to apply for or pay for a permit. There would be some small familiarisation costs incurred, but the exemption conditions and accompanying guidance will be concise and easy to understand for a non-technical expert. We received a range of responses during the consultation, including from the cemetery sector. The Government is reviewing consultation responses and is undertaking further stakeholder engagement to assess the proposed cemetery exemption conditions accordingly. Our Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the star system for animal activity licensing process.

Jo Churchill: The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 were developed to help improve welfare standards across a range of activities involving animals that are licensed by local authorities. We are committed to learning from implementation and to make improvements where necessary and evidenced. There is a statutory requirement to complete a Post Implementation Review of the legislation by October 2023. We will consider the effectiveness of the associated guidance including the star rating system alongside this work. As part of planning for this review, we are proactively working with partners, including local authorities, to collate data that can provide a picture of licensed and unlicensed activities involving animals in England. Key trade associations such as the Pet Industry Federation and the Canine and Feline Sector Group will be integral to coordinating input from this diverse sector to inform Defra’s review. This is an ongoing project and one which will benefit from close involvement of the sector in the development of a strong evidence base.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of potential risks to animal health and welfare associated with laypeople performing breeding procedures in canine fertility clinics.

Jo Churchill: The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 restricts anyone except vets and vet nurses from performing canine artificial breeding procedures. There are no immediate plans to amend this. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 requires owners or handlers of animals to protect them from harm and to provide for their welfare in line with good practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both.The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs which provides owners and keepers with general welfare information, including a specific section on how to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease. That section of the Code of Practice recommends owners seek veterinary advice before breeding their dogs and that owners should take all reasonable steps to ensure that they are able to provide the care required during pregnancy.

Animal Products: Imports

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timetable is for bringing forward the Animals Abroad Bill; and whether he plans to include a ban on the advertising and offering for sale of attractions, activities or experiences in that bill, such as low-welfare animal venues.

Jo Churchill: As set out in the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are committed to promoting high animal welfare standards both at home and abroad. This includes delivering a range of measures to promote the welfare of animals beyond UK borders, setting a global example for high welfare and conservation standards. We are moving forward with our plans to deliver one of the toughest bans in the world on the import of hunting trophies from thousands of endangered and threatened species. We are firmly committed to the ban, and this will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows. We are also looking at further measures to protect animals abroad, including banning the import and export of detached fins, and taking action against low welfare animal experiences.

Pets: Aircraft

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on (a) cats and (b) dogs being transported to the UK with their owners in the passenger cabin of aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The Government takes the importation of pets seriously and we are committed to preserving our high standards of biosecurity and animal welfare. All pets travelling into Great Britain (GB) are checked for compliance prior to entry. To facilitate this, Defra requires that all pets entering GB airports are transported safely and securely to the pet checking facility. Operations at airports are sensitive and complex, and other vital border controls need to be considered. In practice, this means that most pets currently travel to GB by air as 'manifest cargo'. This enables the pets to be transferred directly to the pet checking facility and means that a documentary record of the pet’s arrival is available to customs and other border control officials. The safety and welfare of the animals is given prime importance before approval to transport the animals is granted. Carriers are required to ensure that air quality and quantity, temperature and pressure is maintained while the animals are on board. Food and water must also be provided, according to the journey duration. Stringent requirements are also in place for pet transport containers under the International Air Transport Association Live Animals Regulations, with space and ventilation concerns paramount. Currently, the only animals that are authorised to travel in the cabin of a commercial aircraft into GB are Recognised Assistance Dogs. We have no immediate plans to change the means by which pet cats and dogs may enter GB by air.

Fisheries

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including a timebound commitment for each nation to develop and implement a climate-smart fisheries strategy in the Joint Fisheries Statement.

Victoria Prentis: Fisheries management is largely devolved and, as such, it will be for each Devolved Administration to consider how best to take forward these commitments. The need for robust action to tackle climate change is recognised by the fisheries policy authorities. In partnership with industry and the seafood sector, the fisheries policy authorities will explore the best ways to contribute to the net zero target. How the industry and seafood sector respond to climate change will require consideration of how their contribution to climate change can be mitigated and how they can adapt to its effects. This needs to be considered across the entire supply chain. The draft Joint Fisheries Statement recognises the importance of these issues. Defra will be working hard to address these challenges in English Waters over the lifetime of the Joint Fisheries Statement including, where appropriate, using the option of evidence-based time bound targets in our Fisheries Management Plans.

Electric Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strategic priority of electric vehicles in meeting the UK's clean air goals.

Jo Churchill: Phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2035 will reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions faster. Cars and vans represent one fifth of UK domestic CO2 emissions and accounted for 71% of domestic UK transport emissions in 2019. Ending the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans will also help improve air quality through the phased elimination of tailpipe emissions. A Government research project to assess the impact of the shift to electric vehicles on non-exhaust emissions from tyre and brake wear is underway and will report in 2023.

Climate Change

Sally-Ann Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in response to the UK’s Third Climate Change Risk Assessment, if he will ensure that the upcoming National Adaptation Programme will (a) contain a coherent vision for a 2 degrees Celsius world for England and (b) adequately prepare for the adaptation needs and opportunities beyond the next National Adaptation Programme five-year period.

Jo Churchill: Our ambition for NAP3 is to have a clear set of objectives for adaptation, and a systematic and robust set of policies, programmes and investments to meet those objectives. We aim to have measurable metrics, timelines and progress indicators, all linked to the 61 risks set out in our risk assessment. We have extensive plans underway to adapt to and mitigate the risks of a warming climate, including our work to restore biodiversity, protecting and restoring our peatlands, wetlands and natural environment, and cleaning up our air, which we are delivering through our landmark Environment Act, and will look to integrate into NAP3. We know there is more to do to prepare for a warmer world and will base our approach on the latest evidence, and advice from the Climate Change Committee. I’d be happy to meet with my Honourable Friend to discuss this programme of work further.

Fly-tipping

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support effective coordinated action between relevant agencies on tackling fly tipping.

Jo Churchill: Defra continues to chair the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG) which is made up a wide range of interested bodies including the National Police Chiefs Council, enforcement agencies, organisations representing private landowners and local authorities to explore ways to tackle fly-tipping and share best practice. We are currently working with the NFTPG to produce a fly-tipping toolkit. We intend to publish the first part of this toolkit, a guide on how councils and others can present robust prosecutions, shortly. Future elements of the toolkit will cover how local authorities can set up effective fly-tipping partnerships, the use of new technology to report fly-tipping and the sharing of intelligence between relevant stakeholders. In addition, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) was launched in 2020. The JUWC is a taskforce dedicated to tackling serious and organised criminality in the waste sector, including the most serious incidents of large-scale illegal dumping. The Unit brings together agencies across the UK including: the Environment Agency; Natural Resources Wales; the Scottish Environment Protection Agency; the Northern Ireland EA; the Police; HMRC; the British Transport Police; and the National Crime Agency.

Waste Disposal: Regulation

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to raise public awareness of the importance of waste collection by operatives following relevant regulations and guidance.

Jo Churchill: The Environment Act 2021 amends the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to introduce new requirements around waste collection in England. Our 2019 and 2021 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling' consultations looked into the detail of these requirements.We intend to publish statutory guidance to help local authorities, and other waste collectors, comply with the separate collection requirements and may also include best practice around collection. We will consult with the sector on the content of the guidance in 2022, following the outcome of our 2021 consultation on consistency in recycling.The Environment Agency is the regulator of this system.For business waste collections the onus is on company owners to check that the waste collection companies they are using are registered with the Environment Agency and have appropriate permits. If they are found to be using a company that is not registered, they could face criminal charges.Alongside the statutory guidance, we will lay regulations which will include materials in scope of collection, timings for introduction and any exemptions to collection. Further details on this will be outlined in our Government response, which will be published in due course.

Waste Disposal: Polluter Pays Principle

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) stakeholder and (b) public awareness of the polluter pays principle in the disposal of commercial waste.

Jo Churchill: No assessment has been made. Every business that produces or deals with waste has a duty of care to make sure that their waste is dealt with properly and does not end up being treated or disposed of illegally. Legitimate waste sites play a critical role in managing commercial waste to achieve high levels of resource efficiency, and are responsible for operating within regulated limits to protect the environment and human health. Where pollution occurs, the regulator will take steps to ensure that those responsible are held to account, be they a waste producer or a site operator or owner.

Fly-tipping

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the practice of people collecting waste from householders for a charge and subsequently fly-tipping the material.

Jo Churchill: There are shortcomings in the current registration system for carriers, brokers and dealers of waste, which is why we are currently consulting on its reform. We are also consulting on the introduction of mandatory digital waste tracking so we can know better where our waste ends up. Together, these measures will help to ensure that waste is dealt with appropriately and will reduce opportunities for waste crime. Householders in England and Wales already have a duty to ensure they only transfer their household waste to an ‘authorised person’. Those who fail in this duty may be subject to prosecution or a fixed penalty notice.

Fly-tipping

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure reliable and consistent statistical reporting of fly tipping incidents.

Jo Churchill: Defra publishes statistics on fly-tipping incidents as reported by local authorities in England. The intention is to capture all fly tipping incidents on public land. All local authorities have been issued with detailed guidance on how to report fly-tipping and training is also offered. The guidance sets out what should be recorded on the database. Recently, the guidance has been amended to reinforce to local authorities that incidents from all sources should be reported. In addition, data verification and quality assurance are carried out by Defra. Defra collects information on the basis of reporting in order to improve transparency in the reported data. Further information can be found in the methodology section of the Statistical Notice.

Fly-tipping: Fixed Penalties

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) fixed penalty notices and (b) court penalties at deterring fly tipping.

Jo Churchill: Whilst we have not conducted formal assessment on the effectiveness of fixed penalty notices and court penalties at deterring fly tipping, we commissioned a research project in 2021 considering the drivers, deterrents and impacts of fly-tipping. This research project, which considered the role of enforcement and sanctions among other things, is due to be completed in the spring and will inform policy making.We will continue to monitor the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of the current enforcement regime.

Tree Felling: Electric Cables

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for power companies with powers to carry out resilience cutting without a tree-felling license to replace or minimise adverse impacts to adjacent residencies or businesses.

Rebecca Pow: The Government is committed to increasing tree cover, which is why we have committed to raise planting rates to 30,000 hectares per year across the UK by the end of this parliament. Individual trees can provide important environmental benefits, but these benefits need to be balanced against people’s safety as well as security of electricity supply. For this reason, electricity operators may carry out or request felling without a licence where a tree is or will be in such close proximity to an electric line or electrical plant that it may impact on power distribution. Electricity operators may wish to consider compensatory planting if this does not have a negative impact on future operations.

Home Office

Visas: Refugees

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase capacity in the context of increased refugee applications; whether she has plans to recruit more staff to handle those applications; what assessment she has made of the potential impact of prioritising Ukrainian refugee applications on outstanding refugee applications from other countries; and what assessment she has made of reports that people applying for visas in African countries have been told they will have to wait longer because of the situation in the Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Crimes of Violence

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s reports entitled The economic and social costs of crime (Second edition), published on 23 July 2018, and The economic and social costs of domestic abuse, published on 21 January 2019, if she will publish any information held by her Department on the differences of methodology that were used to generate the estimated unit costs in cases of (a) violence with injury, (b) violence without injury and (c) rape in each publication.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report entitled The economic and social costs of crime (Second edition), published on 23 July 2018, if she will publish any information her Department holds on the differences in the estimated unit costs for (a) domestic abuse victims and (b) other victims in cases of (i) violence with injury, (ii) violence without injury and (iii) rape.

Kit Malthouse: The economic and social costs of domestic abuse report (published January 2019) outlines the methodology applied to calculate costs, and how these differ when compared to the approach taken in the economic and social costs of crime (published July 2018).Unit costs are produced in both reports in the cases of (i) violence with injury, (ii) violence without injury, and (iii) rape.References:The economic and social costs of crime (publishing.service.gov.uk)The economic and social costs of domestic abuse (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Animals in Science Regulation Unit

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s Change Programme, what assessment she has made of the impact on animal welfare of (a) that programme and (b) the proposed decrease in in-person inspector visits to animal testing sites.

Tom Pursglove: Each establishment licence holder has the responsibility at all times for the welfare of the animals within their establishment.Establishment licence holders are required to have governance systems in place to ensure all Personal and Project Licence Holders comply with the requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and to maintain compliance with the conditions on their own establishment licence. These requirements are defined in the Standard Conditions of licences.In July 2021 the regulator initiated a new operating model that delivers a structured and integrated framework aligned with leading regulatory practice. In October of this year the regulator commenced a new system of full system audits that form part of an integrated system to assess compliance across the regulated community.The audit process and the evidence for assessment of compliance against the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and associated licence conditions, are available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#process-and-standards-for-establishment-full-system-audits

Asylum: Eritrea

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of provisions in the Nationality and Borders Bill on Eritrean victims of (a) religious persecution and (b) torture who are seeking asylum in the UK.

Tom Pursglove: The Nationality and Borders Bill is part of our New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades.An Equality Impact Assessment was published on 16 September 2021, and this includes consideration of possible impacts on people arising from their nationality and their religion or beliefs; it also includes consideration of possible impacts on people who have experienced trauma.The Equality Impact Assessment can be found on the GOV.UK website: Nationality and Borders Bill: equality impact assessment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

National Crime Agency: Standards

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of (a) the National Crime Agency's capacity to detect money linked to corruption flowing from African states into the UK and (b) steps that could be taken to improve the Agency's capacity.

Damian Hinds: The National Crime Agency has specialist capability to address the threat posed to the UK by illicit finance, including the proceeds of international corruption.The International Corruption Unit, established in 2015, has effectively investigated and prosecuted cases involving money linked to corruption flowing from African states into the UK. The performance of the unit is subject to a published annual review. The NCA-hosted International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (established in 2016) also brings together specialist law enforcement officers from multiple agencies around the world to tackle allegations of grand corruption, including in Africa.The Agency has processes to ensures resource is effectively prioritised and focussed on the highest risk. These processes consider broader questions of capacity.

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Warley 25 January 2022 on Mr Abdimunye.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 22 March 2022.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report entitled The UK Government’s Approach to Evaluating the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes, published on 13 December 2018, whether she plans to publish an equivalent report on the ACRS and ARAP schemes.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report entitled The UK Government’s Approach to Evaluating the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes, published on 13 December 2018, whether she plans to publish an equivalent report on the Hong Kong British National Overseas scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office operates a mixed method evaluation of refugee resettlement. The work is underpinned by an indicators of integration framework (Home Office Indicators of Integration framework 2019 third edition - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).We will be setting out the approach to evaluating ongoing refugee resettlement in due course.The British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route is a managed migration route enabling BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members to move to the UK, if they decide that is the right choice for them. A £43.1 million welcome programme is in place to support them.On 31 January 2022, the Home Office published data on the characteristics of British National (Overseas) visa holders, which is available at: Survey of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with her international counterparts in countries bordering Ukraine to support (a) identification and (b) transportation to the UK of eligible refugees.

Kevin Foster: The UK Government is engaged in dialogue with a range of international partners to ensure our response to the situation in Ukraine is coordinated and effective. The Home Secretary is speaking regularly to her international counterparts, including countries bordering Ukraine, to understand how the UK can work together with our partners.The Home Office has made the visa process quicker and simpler for Ukrainians to come here. Valid passport holders no longer have to attend in-person appointments to submit fingerprints or facial verification. This means Visa Application Centres across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without documentation. The Home Office is deploying more staff to the region to support customer queries and bring on board further capacity to facilitate more biometric appointments. This is in addition to actions we have already taken including surging capacity to countries neighbouring Ukraine including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland. We have already increased the capacity to support customer queries and to expand capacity across our Visa Application Centres to 13,000 appointments per week in Europe.A number of European transport companies are offering free transport for people fleeing Ukraine. This includes rail, bus, ferry and air travel. The transport industry in England, Scotland and Wales has also come together to offer free rail, tram, bus and coach onward travel for Ukrainians arriving in the UK from any international port, airport or train station.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long on average applications are taking to be processed for the Homes for Ukraine scheme where the sponsor already has a named contact, as of 24 March 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Scheme has only been running for a short period so far; details on the number of visas issued, which will give an indication of processing times, will be released in due course.

Home Office: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) staff from her Department have been deployed to and (b) her Department employs staff working in Poland to help identify people for resettlement in the UK.

Kevin Foster: We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.The Home Office and the commercial provider operating our Visa Application Centres have surged staff across Europe to meet demand, where we can offer over 13,000 appointments to visa applicants, and UKVI staff in the UK are working seven days a week to process applications.As part of the Home Office’s commitment to make it easier for applicants to apply to our schemes, since 15 March Ukrainians with valid passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.

Afghanistan: Immigration

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan nationals with UK visas who served (a) as interpreters and (b) in other locally employed staff roles have resettled in the UK as of 28 February 2022; and what steps her Department is taking to support those people and their families.

Kevin Foster: Over 15,000 people were supported to come to the UK directly following the evacuation of Afghanistan, and a further 2,000 have since arrived. The Home Office will publish the number of people being offered protection under UK Resettlement programmes in its quarterly Immigration Statistics. The next publication will be in May 2022.On 31 August, the Government announced ‘‘Operation Warm Welcome’’ to support those who have been relocated to the UK in accessing accommodation and the vital health, education, and support into employment they need to fully integrate into society.Following their arrival into the UK, Afghan evacuees are provided with housing, support to access benefits or employment and additional wrap around support provided by local authorities plus:Healthcare support – providing £3 million of additional NHS funding, so Afghans arriving under ARAP can access healthcare and register with a GP.Education support – making £12 million available to prioritise additional school places and enrol children as soon as possible.Support into accommodation – providing £5 million for local authorities to provide housing.To harness the generosity of the British public and make sure those who want to help know where to turn, we have launched a new webpage, Help people who have come to the UK from Afghanistan: Ways you can help - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) through which people can submit offers of support for people arriving from Afghanistan

Visas

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Tier 1 [Investor] visas review will be published.

Kevin Foster: The review of visas issued under the Tier 1 (Investor) route between 2008 and 2015 is being finalised and it is our aim to publish it in the near future.

Cybercrime: Pilot Schemes

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on the pilot for a national cyber-crime force.

Damian Hinds: The Government takes fraud and cyber crime very seriously. That is why, through the Spending Review 21 settlement and the Economic Crime Levy an overall package over the next three years of circa £400 million is being used to tackle economic crime, including fraud, including support for the National Crime Agency (NCA) and law enforcement.As part of this, the NCA are increasing their capabilities on fraud. The pilot of a national cyber crime force focused on fraud, based in the NCA was set out in the 2021 Statement of Progress on the Economic Crime Plan. The NCA’s pilot has delivered new tasking, intelligence and strategic communications capabilities in the NCA. This new national cyber crime force focused on fraud will be fully established by 2025.Tackling cyber crime is at the heart of the UK government’s new National Cyber Strategy which is supported by £2.6bn of new investment over the Spending Review period.

Body Searches: Children

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure appropriate guidance is issued to police officers, to prevent unnecessary strip searches or intimate searches of children.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help ensure that strip searches or invasive searches of children are reviewed (a) on the basis of safeguarding concerns and (b) by an appropriate body that is empowered to act against wrongful strip or invasive searches.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) is complied with by serving Officers, specifically with reference to stop and search.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to improve support to children who have been strip searched or intimately searched.

Kit Malthouse: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Codes of Practice govern how the police should undertake a strip search. The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Stop and Search provides further guidance for the police on the use of strip search. We expect officers to follow the law and the best practice guidance set by the College of Policing in its APP.Her Majesty’s inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspect police forces’ compliance with the legislation and APP through their programme of PEEL assessments, national thematic inspections and commissions from the Home Secretary and local policing bodies. We expect forces to respond to these recommendations and address failures of compliance with legislation and APP.Searches involving exposure of intimate parts of the body must be conducted in accordance with the safeguards in paragraph 11 of Annex A of PACE Code C. If a child is strip searched, an appropriate adult must be present to support the child during this process. It is essential that the police and frontline professionals recognise vulnerability in children and young people, regardless of the circumstances around any interaction. To support this the Home Office have funded the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice programme, which shares the very best practice across forces. We also fund the College of Policing’s Public Protection and Safeguarding Leadership programme which ensures senior leaders in policing have a strong understanding of vulnerability.Any concerns about the use of strip searches should be raised with the relevant force or the Independent Office of Police Complaints (IOPC), who investigate serious matters involving the police. As part of its work, the IOPC is required to consider if there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing or if police officers have a case to answer for misconduct or gross misconduct.

Crimes of Violence

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report entitled The economic and social costs of crime (Second edition), published on 23 July 2018, if she will publish any information her Department holds on the differences in the estimated unit costs for (a) male and (b) female victims in cases of (i) violence with injury, (ii) violence without injury and (iii) rape.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Department’s report, The economic and social costs of crime, Second edition, published on 23 July 2018, whether the estimated unit costs in cases of (a) violence with injury, (b) violence without injury and (c) rape are still in use by her Department and other agencies; and what assessment her Department has made of the reliability of the methodology used to generate them.

Kit Malthouse: The Economic and Social Costs of Crime (published by the Home Office, July 2018) is still in use by the Department, as it is currently the most comprehensive source for the estimated social and economic costs of the crimes that are referenced in the report, committed against individuals and businesses.The unit costs are used widely in appraisal of crime-related policies and are inflated to the relevant price year. This does not capture any other changes in the prevalence of crimes or any potential changes in the respective unit costs since the year the report was based on (year ending March 2016).The Economic and Social Costs of Crime report was peer reviewed by three independent academics. The analytical approach has since been replicated for other crime types, such as the cost of domestic abuse, and undergone further academic peer reviews to maintain analytical robustness.A breakdown of the unit costs by sex are not available, however a breakdown of victims by sex for rape and separately violence with and without injury can be found via the ONS (Crime in England and Wales: Annual supplementary tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) tables S40 for rape offences, and The nature of violent crime: appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) table 1 for violence with injury and violence without injury).References:The economic and social costs of crime (publishing.service.gov.uk)https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/918897/horr107.pdf

Security Guards: Training

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support for (a) top up courses and (b) first aid courses for security officers on low incomes seeking to renew their Security Industry Authority licences.

Kit Malthouse: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) works closely with the private security industry and with training providers to develop qualification specifications and other requirements for all current and prospective licence-holders across the UK.The SIA recognises the importance of supporting licence-holders and applicants and has worked with the training providers’ awarding bodies to ensure that training is as flexible and cost-effective as possible. Options include a mixture of self-study, virtual classrooms, and face-to-face training.Neither the Home Office nor the SIA regulates the delivery of training which is the responsibility of dedicated agencies across the devolved administrations.There are currently record numbers of licensed security operatives in the register of SIA licence holders.

Fuels: Theft

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate the Government has made of the amount of fuel thefts that have occurred in the last three months from (a) private vehicles, (b) fuel stations, and (c) other commercial enterprises.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office does not hold data on fuel thefts. However, we are aware of concerns on this topic and are working with the police, DVLA, and fuel retailers to tackle fuel theft, with a focus on streamlining the range of actions that can be taken on those who obtain fuel and subsequently drive-off from forecourts without paying.Fuel users storing diesel in tanks or in vehicles and machinery on their site(s) should continue to take steps to ensure this is stored securely. Practical crime prevention advice is published on the Secured by Design website, developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: https://www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/crime-prevention-advice/fuel-theft.

Criminal Investigation

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the impact of the Crown Prosecution Service's 6th Edition of the Directors Guidance on Charging workloads of Police Detectives.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crown Prosecution Services 6th Edition of the Directors Guidance on Charging on the moral and wellbeing of Police Detectives.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Crown Prosecution Services on steps that can be taken to mitigate the potential impact of its Guidance on Charging policy on levels of workload and bureaucracy during the pre charging phase of investigations.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crown Prosecution Services 6th Edition of the Directors Guidance on Charging on delays in the criminal justice system for both victims and suspects.

Kit Malthouse: As set out in the Crown Prosecution Service’s 6th Edition of the Director’s Guidance on Charging, establishing high-quality disclosure is essential to an effective Criminal Justice System, ensuring the process is fair, efficient and effective. The police play a crucial role in effective casefile preparation, including disclosure, to bring criminals to justice.In March 2021, the CPS, NPCC and College of Policing published a joint National Case Progression Commitment which builds on work conducted by all three organisations under the National Disclosure Improvement Plan (NDIP), and under which they will jointly tackle barriers to effective case management and case progression.This Government has given the police the resources they need to cut crime and put offenders behind bars, with an increase in total police funding by £1.1b compared to 2021/22, and over 11,000 extra officers hired as part of the Police Uplift Programme (as of 31 December 2021) to bring crime down and keep our neighbourhoods safe.The wellbeing of police officers and staff is vitally important. It is the duty of senior leaders to ensure that officers and staff have the right support to help them carry out their important work to the standard expected by the public.  Each Chief Constable has a duty to manage and support their workforce effectively, ensuring the welfare of all officers and staff. They are held to account on behalf of the public by elected police and crime commissioners.The Home Office, Attorney General’s Office, and Ministry of Justice are working closely together, along with the National Police Chiefs Council and CPS, to tackle delays and improve timeliness at every stage of the Criminal Justice System. The Government has recently launched Criminal Justice Scorecards at a local and national level, which bring together data from across the CJS to provide a view of cross system performance. The scorecards measure progress against the key criminal justice priority areas: improving timeliness, increasing victim engagement and improving quality of justice.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his priorities are for tackling housing challenges in York, in the context of the performance of City of York Council in meeting housing need.

Stuart Andrew: As set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, the Government is determined to level up the country by tackling the factors driving the increasing unaffordability of housing. The Government is continuing to build on a decade of record housing delivery and has committed to deliver 1 million new homes by the end of this Parliament and continue towards its target to increase building output to 300,000 homes a year.York’s 2021 Housing Delivery Test result of 65% means the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies there. Consequently, York is expected to approve applications for housing unless the application of policies in the NPPF that protect areas or assets of particular importance provide a clear reason for refusing the development proposed, or any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in the NPPF taken as a whole.The York Local Plan remains at examination, due to the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in the planning system I am unable to comment on the details of the Local Plan. The independent Inspectors play an important role in examining the Plan impartially to ensure that it is legally compliant and sound. The Inspectors intend to hold further hearings commencing in April 2022, although it is not possible at this stage to say with certainty when the examination will be concluded.It remains important to ensure that progress on the York local plan is maintained and the Inspectors are given the opportunity to issue their final report. This is especially important for the City of York, who have not had a new Local Plan in place since 1956. The Government has set a deadline for all local planning authorities to have up-to-date local plans by the end of 2023. This will help deliver the certainty that local communities and businesses deserve.We are providing £77.1 million in housing investment grant funding to the York Central project, to unlock 2,500 homes on a brownfield city centre location next to York Railway Station. The project is being delivered directly by Homes England. The Agency continues to work closely with the City Council to identify opportunities to deliver more affordable housing in the area through the Affordable Homes Programme.We are also providing £300,000 of resource funding to City of York Council to aid in the delivery of the West of Elvington Lane Garden Village. This will aid in the delivery of over 3,300 homes.We have also invested £1,516,800 from the Local Authority Accelerated Construction Fund at the Lowfield School site in York. This is delivering 165 new homes, as well as community and care facilities. Construction of all the new homes has started on site, and completions have begun.Through the Brownfield Land Release Fund, we have provided £2.64 million of grant funding to the City of York council to support the release of land for 97 homes across three local-authority owned sites. This includes two sites to release land for 10 new self and custom build homes.

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to review the work of the Commission for Building Better, Building Beautiful in the context of recent feedback expressed by hon. Members.

Stuart Andrew: In January 2021, the Government published a response to the commission’s report welcoming their recommendations and setting out how we would take the vast majority of them forward to embed beauty, design and placemaking in the planning system. Since then, Government has revised the National Planning Policy Framework, published the National Model Design Code and is exploring options to set up an independent Office for Place, to support communities in turning their visions of beautiful design into a reality. We will continue to review how we can further embed the Commission’s recommendations.

Housing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what powers he has to review the (a) housing supply and (b) management of housing demand of local authorities that consistently fail to develop the housing required to meet local need.

Stuart Andrew: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires that Councils identify and update annually a supply of specific ‘deliverable’ sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirement. This is more commonly known as a 5-year housing land supply. Additionally, the Housing Delivery Test identifies the areas where homes are or are not being delivered against housing need.Where the supply and delivery of housing is not meeting local need, the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies. This means additional housing allocations and approvals should be granted by a local authority unless planning constraints provide a strong reason against this when assessed against the NPPF as a whole – examples of this include Green Belt or flood risk.

Community Housing Fund

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on bringing forward a Community Housing Fund (a) for the financial year 2022-3 or (b) during the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

Stuart Andrew: The Community Housing Fund has provided support for the community-led housing sector since 2016 and the current round of the Fund comes to an end at the end of the current financial year. Discussions on any funding beyond the current financial year form part of wider discussions with the Treasury about how, following the 2021 Spending Review, DLUHC's budget will be deployed across the full range of the Department's programmes.

Housing: Insulation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2022 to Question 131061, on Buildings: Insulation, whether he has plans to bring forward proposals in the Building Safety Bill to ensure that leaseholders who are buy-to-let landlords do not pay remediation costs to remove and replace (a) unsafe cladding and (b) non-cladding related fire safety defects, such as defective fire doors, firebreaks and balconies.

Stuart Andrew: We are clear that building owners and industry should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders, and leaseholders living in their own medium and high-rise buildings should not have to pay to remediate historic cladding defects that are no fault of their own. We will explore whether this support should extend to other leaseholders, such as buy-to-let landlords. We are also bringing forth statutory protections in the Building Safety Bill to ensure leaseholders are protected.

Private Rented Housing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to cease their dependency on the private rented sector for residents where there is poor supply of properties.

Eddie Hughes: The private rented sector is an important option in ensuring people have a roof over their heads to get the support they need and securing long term accommodation for people. Homelessness legislation allows local authorities to use private rented accommodation to prevent or relieve homelessness, or to bring the main housing duty to an end and as temporary accommodation while ensuring the accommodation offered is suitable in relation to the needs and circumstances of the households. Local authorities are encouraged to work in close partnership with local landlords and to develop opportunities to expand the provision of private rented accommodation that is available to people threatened with or actually homeless. Alongside this the Government has committed to improving the standards within the private rented sector and will publish a white paper this spring.Local councils are best placed to determine how best to manage the demand for social housing – they are responsible for allocating housing through local schemes. These are governed by a framework of rules set by central government which ensure social housing is prioritised for those in housing need.We are committed to investing in social housing. Our new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. The new Affordable Homes Programme will deliver more than double the amount of social rent compared to the current programme, with around 32,000 social rent homes due to be delivered. Since 2010, we have delivered over 574,100 new affordable homes, including over 403,400 affordable homes for rent, of which over 154,600 homes were for social rent.

Housing First

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2022 to Question 136588, when the Housing First pilot report will be undertaken and published.

Eddie Hughes: The Housing First pilot programme was announced in the 2017 budget and allocated £28 million of Government funding, which includes up to £2.7 million for a comprehensive external evaluation led by ICF So far, two interim reports have been published, with further reports planned for later this year and early next year. Published reports can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-first-pilot-national-evaluation-reports . The final evaluation report is due to be completed at the end of 2023.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ensure that there are staff in place to welcome refugees from Ukraine on their arrival in the UK.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make provision for an online Ukrainian language course to enable families hosting refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme to learn some basic language skills.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if she will work with local authorities to identify Ukrainian families resident in the UK who volunteer to home refugees from Ukraine.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government has a database of all Ukrainian families who are seeking refuge in the UK.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to issue guidance to people offering to sponsor Ukrainian refugees on how to identify refugees to host in the event that they do not know anyone personally fleeing Ukraine.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the data submitted by those interested in becoming a Homes for Ukraine sponsor will be shared with the local authorities in which they reside; and whether local authorities will be permitted to share that data with trusted local organisations.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to produce additional guidance on how best to host a refugee family for people who volunteer to host refugees from Ukraine.

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to extend the Homes for Ukraine scheme that would facilitate matching of volunteers with Ukrainian refugees who are not named individual contacts.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using visa application centres as a place (a) Ukrainian refugees can register an interest to be matched with a UK family in the event that they have no ties to the UK and (b) organisations in the UK can use to match refugees with hosts.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to PQ UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022. The Government is working closely with the voluntary sector, local communities and faith groups, as well as local government and the devolved administrations. Resources for learning Ukrainian and Russian are widely available online.

Gazprom: Local Government

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to support local councils that seek to terminate any energy contracts they hold with Gazprom; and if he will make a statement.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government is exploring what options are possible to assist local authorities who are reconsidering their contracts This includes secondary legislation, as set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0122-contracts-with-suppliers-from-russia-and-belarus   My officials are engaging with local authorities as part of this process, including officers at Portsmouth City Council

Parish Councils: Accountability

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government is taking through The Local Government (Disqualification) Bill to strengthen the regulations on accountability of town and parish councils.

Kemi Badenoch: The Local Government (Disqualification) Bill specifically seeks to update the disqualification criteria for councillors, mayors and London Assembly members in line with modern sentencing measures available for registered sex offenders. It seeks to disqualify individuals who are subject to any relevant notification requirements, or relevant orders imposed for sexual offences from standing for election or being a member of a local authorityThe existing disqualification criteria in legislation disqualify individuals from standing or being a member of a local authority if they have been given a custodial sentence of three months or more, suspended or not within five years before the day of election or since their election. This already addresses serious cases of criminal behaviour by local elected representatives other than just sexual offences.

Public Appointments: Disqualification

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to extend the The Local Government (Disqualification) Bill to cover Police and Crime Commissioners and Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords so they also can be disqualified from public office if they are convicted of similar offences as outlined in that Bill.

Kemi Badenoch: The Bill specifically seeks to update disqualification criteria for local government - councillors, elected Mayors and London Assembly members. There are separate arrangements for Police and Crime Commissioner elections and Parliamentary elections.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what date his Department plans to publish the timeframe for allocations of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Neil O'Brien: We recognise that places need to understand the amount of UKSPF that will be available to local areas, in order to inform the development of their investment plans.We will include information on allocations in the Prospectus, which will be published shortly, including information on the methodology that will be used to allocate the fund and what this means for local places.

Regional Planning and Development: Advertising

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which (a) cities, (b) towns and (c) other communities have been named in adverts promoting the What Does Levelling Up Mean to You consultation.

Neil O'Brien: To ensure different types of communities from across the UK engage in the consultation a campaign has run in a number of locations. Cities, towns or communities named in advertisements include:Aberdeen, Belfast, Blackpool, Chesterfield, Penzance and Newlyn, Derry/Londonderry, Darlington, Teesside, Derby, East Midlands, Lancashire, Burley, Glasgow, Grimsby, Great Yarmouth, Lincoln, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Loughborough, Leicestershire, Mid-Wales, Dulais and Tawe, Blyth, Newcastle, South Yorkshire, Rotherham, Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, Southend, Haverfordwest, Swansea, Walsall, Wolverhampton.

Scotland Office

Dawnfresh: Uddingston

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department is taking to support workers at the Dawnfresh site in Uddingston who are waiting to receive support from the Redundancy Payment Scheme.

Mr Alister Jack: My office engages regularly with other Government Departments at official and Ministerial level. Jobcentre Plus, working with Skills Development Scotland’s ‘Partnership Action for Continuing Employment’, has deployed their Rapid Response Service to the Dawnfresh site at Uddingston. This is to give access to Jobcentre Plus’ services to those affected, ensuring full support, by both of Scotland’s Governments, is available to all those affected.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Accountability

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps he has taken with the Prime Minister to hold Ministers to account for the performance of their Departments.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Prime Minister set up the No 10 Delivery Unit (10DU) in June last year as a new, powerful capability in the heart of government to drive forward his ambitious agenda for the country. 10DU focuses on core elements of the PM's mission - levelling up, recovery and reform of public services, jobs and skills, and net zero. It works as an integral part of No10, acting as the guardian of the centre's delivery priorities and the associated tools and techniques for effective delivery. As such, it supports capacity building in government departments and takes a leading role in the delivery of the Government's agenda. The Prime Minister also holds ministers to account via Cabinet meetings and Cabinet Committees. To complement this, the Cabinet Secretary holds regular Departmental stocktakes on departmental delivery with Permanent Secretaries across government.

Covid-19 Inquiry

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the covid-19 inquiry will not hold public evidence hearings until 2023.

Michael Ellis: The timing of a statutory inquiry’s various stages are, under the Inquiries Act 2005, a matter for its independent chair to determine.

Treasury

Shipping: Minimum Wage

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies employing seafarers in the UK’s territorial waters comply with minimum wage legislation.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. HMRC won’t hesitate to take action to ensure that workers receive what they are legally entitled to. Consequences for not complying with paying NMW can include fines of 200% of the arrears, public naming and, for the most serious offences, criminal prosecution. HMRC takes seriously and considers all complaints from workers. If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact Acas, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or report their employer online using the link www.gov.uk/minimum-wage-complaint On 1 October 2020, BEIS changed the law so that seafarers and other maritime persons who work or ordinarily work in the UK or in UK territorial waters (generally 12 miles from the seashore) are generally entitled to NMW. This is regardless of where the vessel is registered or whether the worker ordinarily resides in the UK. There are some circumstances where NMW legislation does not apply, such as work performed on ships exercising the "right to innocent passage" or "the right of transit passage" as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). HMRC has worked with maritime worker representatives and employers to raise awareness of the new NMW legislation that came into force on 1st October 2020, and wrote to employers in the maritime sector, asking them to check that they are paying all their workers the correct minimum wage and pointing them to available guidance. HMRC have also produced multi-lingual leaflets for seafarers, to raise awareness about their entitlement to NMW and routes of redress and distributed these via the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Nautilus International union.

Energy: Housing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of how the measures announced in the Spring Statement on providing energy diversification will support households that cannot afford heat pumps, wind turbines and solar panels.

Helen Whately: As announced by the Chancellor, we are removing the 5 per cent VAT charge on the installation of energy-efficiency materials over the next five years and permanently reversing restrictions imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union, removing complex eligibility conditions and reinstating wind and water turbines as qualifying materials . This represents a £280 million tax cut to support investment in energy efficiency over the next 5 years. We have committed to invest £3 billion over this Parliament to improve the energy efficiency of up to 500,000 low-income homes, reducing energy bills by hundreds of pounds per year. We are also expanding the Energy Company Obligation to £1 billion per year from 2022 to 2026, helping 133,000 low-income households annually to improve their energy efficiency.

Import Duties: Belarus

Mark Eastwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to take steps to support UK businesses that are reliant on imported goods from Belarus and are at risk of insolvency as a result of the additional 35 per cent tariff on those goods.

Lucy Frazer: As part of our response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Lukashenko regime is being made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin. The UK is working with our international partners to prevent those who fail to respect the rules-based international order from reaping its benefits. To that end, on 15 March, the government announced an additional 35 per cent tariff on certain goods of Russian and Belarusian origin. The decision to include Belarus in scope of this measure is to prevent circumvention of Russian-origin goods, and is in line with the evolving sanctions position. When designing this policy, the government considered the sectoral impacts on the UK economy alongside our wider objectives. To help businesses adjust, the Department for International Trade has exempted goods that had left Belarus or Russia before the legislation entered into force on 25 March 2022. If UK businesses have any questions about trading with Ukraine, Russia or Belarus they can contact the government's Export Support Service. We will continue to keep these measures under review.

Red Diesel

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Government is providing to businesses to assist with the costs associated with moving from red diesel to other fuel sources.

Helen Whately: The Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel for most uses from April 2022, other than for defined agricultural purposes and a limited number of other uses. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies. To support the development of alternatives that affected businesses can switch to, the Government is at least doubling the funding provided for energy innovation through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. From that portfolio, the Government announced the £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition, which will provide grant funding for projects that develop and demonstrate lower carbon, lower cost alternatives to red diesel for the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, from 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023, companies can also claim 130% first-year capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery investments. In recognition of the unique circumstances that are currently pushing up fuel prices to unprecedented levels, the Government announced at the Spring Statement that it is cutting fuel duty on petrol and diesel by 5 pence per litre for a period of 12 months. This is a significant tax cut that will deliver considerable savings to businesses over the next year, including those that use diesel, and is the first time in over a decade that the main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut.

Red Diesel: Fundraising

Richard Thomson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will instruct HMRC to amend Excise Notice 75 to include charity tractor runs within the scope of activities eligible to use red diesel.

Helen Whately: Agricultural vehicles will be entitled to run on rebated fuel after April 2022 for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fish farming. The activities accepted as purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry are defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. The Government considers that running or participating in events which provide information and education that benefit agriculture are purposes relating to agriculture, and this includes taking part in charitable activities that promote these industries. Examples of such events are agricultural shows, ploughing matches and charity tractor runs. HMRC will be updating Excise Notice 75 accordingly. Rebated fuel can also be used to travel to and from where the vehicles or machines are to be used for these activities. Agricultural vehicles will also be able to use rebated fuel when cutting verges and hedges that border public roads, clearing snow, gritting, and clearing or otherwise dealing with flooding.

Freight

Derek Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support the haulage industry in response to high fuel prices.

Helen Whately: In response to fuel prices reaching their highest ever levels, the government announced at Spring Statement 2022 a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre. This is the largest cash-terms cut across all fuel duty rates at once, ever, and is only the second time in 20 years that main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut. This cut represents savings for households and businesses worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Value Added Tax Act 1994 Schedule 7A, Group 1, Paragraph 5, on what basis some electric vehicle charging is taxed at a rate of 20 per cent VAT.

Helen Whately: The domestic use of fuel (including electricity that may be used to recharge vehicles) is subject to the reduced rate of VAT of 5%. As set out in Paragraph 5 of Schedule 1, where a supply to a person at their premises does not exceed 1000 kilowatt hours per month, this is deemed to be domestic use. However, for this provision to apply, the supply of electricity must be to a customer’s house or building. Where this is not the case (such as where a vehicle is recharged at a public charge point), the electricity is standard rated.  Further clarification can be found in HM Revenue and Customs Brief 7 (2021): VAT liability of charging of electric vehicles.

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2022 to Question 141147 on Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges, what data his Department holds on the number of free to use ATMs that were in place on 1 January 2021.

John Glen: LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) publishes the total number of free-to-use ATMs across the UK. For January 2021, LINK reported that there were around 41,500 free-to-use ATMs in the UK. LINK’s Monthly ATM Footprint Report also publishes information monthly on the break down by constituency.

Cash Dispensing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals on protecting access to cash.

John Glen: The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash. From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.

Safe Hands Plans

Dawn Butler: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will take steps to help ensure that customers of Safe Hands funeral service who have ceased trading (a) will be reimbursed in full for the money already invested for funeral cover and (b) avoid early cancellation fees associated with recouping their money; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: Safe Hands Funeral Plans has recently gone into administration, and until the insolvency process is complete it will not be possible for customers to be reimbursed any of the money held. I am aware that the current situation will be distressing for customers of Safe Hands and can assure you that the Treasury continues to monitor the implementation of regulation in this sector closely. I welcome the commitment from Dignity to provide funerals to Safe Hands’ customers for two weeks. It is a regrettable fact that bringing a previously unregulated sector into regulation – whatever form that may take – creates a possibility that some providers are not able to meet the threshold for authorisation.Where a provider is unable to obtain FCA authorisation because of underlying issues, it is important to understand that this is not an issue created by bringing the sector into regulation. Rather, bringing the sector into regulation exposes these unsustainable business models and prevents these problems from getting worse and impacting more consumers. The FCA’s guidance is clear that providers who are not seeking or not able to obtain authorisation should either transfer their existing plans to a provider which is seeking authorisation, or wind down in an orderly way before regulation starts.

Insurance Companies: Regulation

Olivia Blake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure the Government’s environmental targets are included in any reform of Solvency II regulation; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: From the outset of the review of Solvency II, one of the guiding objectives has been to support insurance firms to provide long-term capital to underpin growth, including investment in productive assets and investment consistent with the Government’s climate change objectives. The Government is also introducing sustainability disclosure requirements that will require firms to disclose their environmental risks, opportunities and impact. This will continue to be relevant in any reform of Solvency II legislation, again helping to meet the Government’s environmental ambitions. The Government will consult further on Solvency II reforms in April.

Health and Social Care Levy

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral contribution of 23 March 2022, Official Report, column 340, where he stated plans to reform healthcare will ensure every pound of taxpayers money is well spent, what steps he plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) assess the value for money of Government expenditure related to plans to reform healthcare.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Chancellor has launched a new Cabinet Committee on Efficiency and Value for Money, which will clamp down on wasteful spending and ensure a relentless focus on delivering the highest quality services at the best value. To support this goal, and ensure every penny is spent wisely, the NHS have agreed to double their annual efficiency target from 1.1% to 2.2% a year, freeing up £4.75bn to fund NHS priority areas over the next three years. The NHS will report regularly to Government on action it is taking to meet this commitment. The Government has also launched a review of leadership in health and social care led by Sir Gordon Messenger which will report to the Secretary of State in early 2022. The Treasury will support departments – like DHSC - in delivering their commitments and will hold the NHS and DHSC to account for meeting the new efficiency target, including via the new Cabinet Committee on Efficiency and Value for Money and usual spending control processes.

Debts: Ukraine

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions officials in his Department have had with counterparts in allied nations on cancelling Ukraine's national debt.

John Glen: The UK continues to engage with counterparts in allied nations, including G7 partners and International Financial Institutions, on progressing current and future support to Ukraine. Alongside our allies, we’ve hit Russia with the most severe package of sanctions it has ever seen. Our economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine also now totals around £400 million. This includes a £220 million package of aid, making the UK a leading bilateral humanitarian donor; a £100 million grant to support Ukraine’s energy and security reforms, primarily delivered through World Bank programmes; and a $100 million budgetary support grant, which contributed to a package agreed on 8 March of over $700 million for direct fiscal support to Ukraine via the World Bank, to help mitigate direct economic impacts. The UK also agreed to guarantee up to $500 million of lending by multilateral development banks operating in the region, with at least $450 million being earmarked to scale up World Bank lending, which will enable them to significantly scale up their financial support offer to Ukraine.

Social Security Benefits

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the rationale is for his Department's policy not to increase social security in the Spring Statement.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a mid-year review of social security payments.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government is required to review the rates of benefits annually to determine whether they have kept pace with price inflation. CPI has been the default inflation measure for the government’s statutory annual review of benefits since 2011 and it is standard practice for the government to uprate in line with September CPI, which was 3.1% in 2021. September CPI is the latest available figure confirmed by the ONS prior to the annual review and allows sufficient time for the legislative and complex delivery process to take place. The Government is already taking steps that will help families with the cost of living. We have cut the Universal Credit taper rate and increased the work allowances by £500 per year and we are increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour in April 2022. We have also announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, which will provide millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills. At the Spring Statement, the Chancellor went further, announcing an increase to the annual National Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500m to help the most vulnerable with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of differing VAT rates for public and domestic charging of electric vehicles with the principle of VAT neutrality.

Helen Whately: In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use attracts the reduced rate of VAT (five per cent). Electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT (twenty per cent). The Government has not specifically introduced a reduced rate for charging EVs at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes, and electricity used to charge EVs currently mean that the reduced rate is effectively being applied to EV home-charging. Applying the reduced rate of VAT to electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019/20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere. The Government has no current plans to review the current rate of VAT applied to EV charging.

Plastics: Taxation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what environmental impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the inclusion of chemical recycling in the forthcoming Plastic Packaging Tax.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the compliance of the inclusion of chemical recycling in the forthcoming Plastic Packaging Tax with Recycling Standard, BS EN 15343:2007.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on carbon levels of including chemical recycling in the forthcoming Plastic Packaging Tax.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the inclusion of chemical recycling in the forthcoming Plastics Packaging Tax.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using the carbon footprint and yield of the chemical recycling of plastic when assessing recycling for the forthcoming plastics tax; and will he make a statement.

Helen Whately: Following two consultations in 2019 and 2020 on the design of Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT), the Government decided that chemically recycled plastic will be an allowable source of recycled plastic for the purpose of the Tax. Industry recognised standards were considered as part of this consultation process and in the development of the definition of recycled plastic contained within Section 49 Finance Act 2021. The Government has published the anticipated environmental impact of the Plastic Packaging Tax in a Tax Information and Impact Note. This is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax-from-april-2022/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax-2021. HM Treasury has, and continues to, engage closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on various aspects of the Tax, including on chemical recycling.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Advertising

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to monitor the ways that gambling companies advertise to (a) potentially vulnerable people and (b) all other people.

Chris Philp: All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators and their affiliates must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). Compliance with the codes is a licence condition for gambling operators. If an operator’s advertising breaches the code, the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) can refer an operator to the Commission to take enforcement action.To ensure compliance with the codes, the ASA proactively monitors the impacts of advertising content on different groups. Through various annual monitoring reports, the ASA monitors under 18s exposure to gambling adverts on TV and seeks to address inappropriate placement of gambling ads online as part of its quarterly online monitoring sweeps and enforcement activity. The ASA also updates the codes in response to evidence regarding the way companies advertise and its effects. Following research from Ipsos Mori for GambleAware which identified features of gambling advertising that appeal to children and vulnerable adults, the CAP has consulted on reforms to the advertising codes. New rules to protect vulnerable adults are already in force with the announcement of the full consultation outcome expected very soon.DCMS is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005, including the evidence on advertising. We are also consulting on the Online Advertising Programme, which will examine the regulatory model for online advertising to ensure we have an effective and coherent regulatory model to help create and support a sustainable, transparent and accountable online advertising market. It will also consider the potential for harm from placement and targeting of adverts across all sectors, including gambling advertising.

Gambling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that gambling companies produce (a) accurate and (b) accessible data on the number of people who engage with their various platforms.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that gambling companies that breach safety restrictions designed to protect potentially vulnerable people have their licences suspended.

Chris Philp: All gambling operators which transact with customers in Great Britain must have the appropriate licence from the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions of that licence. Those conditions include provisions on providing accurate information to the regulator upon request. For example, a number of licensees have provided regular data to the Commission on the impact of the pandemic on gambling behaviour which has been regularly published here.Data provided to the regulator can also be used to inform regulatory decisions and investigate potential non-compliance with other licence conditions such as player protection requirements. The Commission has a range of powers it can use where a gambling operator has breached its licence conditions, up to and including suspending or revoking licence. The Commission is an independent regulator and is not subject to government direction in the use of its powers. The Gambling Act Review is looking at its powers and resources as part of its broad scope.

Gambling: Lobbying

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of lobbying by the gambling industry on MPs ahead of the publication of the Gambling Review.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the amount spent by gambling companies on lobbying MPs in the last 2 years.

Chris Philp: Our Review of the Gambling Act 2005 is broad in scope and has attracted interest from a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, campaign groups and parliamentarians. Stakeholders from across the debate have provided evidence and views to inform the Review process, with c.16,000 responses submitted to our call for evidence, which we have been considering carefully. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has not collated the declarations of interest by parliamentarians relating to gambling firms.

Internet: Safety

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Online Safety Bill on the effectiveness of the regulation of harmful online content.

Chris Philp: This legislation will create a significant step-change in the experience people have online. The Bill will tackle illegal content and activity; protect children; and give adults greater control of their online experiences, while protecting freedom of expression. The Bill’s systems and processes approach will hold companies to account for holistically considering the design and operation of their services, rather than just responding to events. As a result the Bill will instil a culture of proactive safety and risk management, which will have a substantial positive impact on the regulation of harmful online content.The Regulatory Policy Committee has issued the Online Safety Bill Impact Assessment with a fit for purpose rating. The Impact Assessment estimated, conservatively, that the Bill will need to reduce a subset of quantified online harms by roughly 2% annually to offset the costs created by the Bill.

Internet: Advertising

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the fraudulent advertising duty in the Online Safety Bill is not being applied to Category 2(b) firms; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Philp: We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March. We have designed the Online Safety Bill to be proportionate and risk-based.The Bill will ensure that people using the largest platforms and where there is greatest risk of harm are protected from scams, and ensure these services do not profit from illegal activity.The Online Advertising Programme will build on this duty and examine the whole ecosystem to provide a holistic review of the regulatory framework.

Internet: Advertising

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the fraudulent advertising duty imposed on search engine firms in the Online Safety Bill is less stringent than that imposed on Category 1 firms; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Philp: We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March.The duties on search engines reflect that they facilitate harm in a different way to user to user services. The duties on search engines are therefore designed to be proportionate and risk-based.We have also launched a consultation on proposals for wider reform of online advertising regulations, including in relation to fraud.

Football Governance Fan-led Review

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to publish its response to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government has endorsed the principle that football requires a strong, independent regulator to secure the future of our national game. We are working at pace to consider the recommendations of the Fan Led Review, and determine the most effective way to deliver an independent regulator.The DCMS Secretary of State committed to Parliament on 3 March to bring forward our Government response as soon as possible.This response will be issued in the coming weeks.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Access

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2021 to Question 45805 on Parliamentary Estate: Access, what estimate the Commission has made of the timetable for reopening exit three from Westminster tube station.

Sir Charles Walker: Exit 3 to Westminster Underground Station (the subway under Bridge Street beyond the Subway Entrance) was closed at Christmas 2018 by Westminster Council, due to low footfall and rough sleeping, following consultation with the Parliamentary Estate and London Underground. The land was then transferred to the Parliamentary Estate. There is no plan to reopen Exit 3.